Fighting for a Purpose V2
by erttheking
Summary: While on a deep space mission, a CCS- battlecruiser is shot down by the CIS. The battle fought by the surviors is brutal, but it is only a glimpse of what is to come. Ahsoka/OC  AU post Halo 3 pre Revenge of the Sith
1. Crash Landing

Chapter 1

Crash Landing

2598. 45 years after the Human-Covenant war. When peace was made, the species that had been at each others throats thought that they would never have anything to do with each other. They were wrong. In the year 2569, the UNSC and the former Covenant species, formed an alliance known as the Allied Species. The main reason for the forming of this union, was that the Jiralhanae were in the middle of a brutal civil war. Jiralhanae extremists, led by the last surviving San 'Shyuum ,the Prophet of Salvation, led a genocidal war against all who had abandoned the faith of the Covenant.

Years before, undeniable proof had been put forward that completely shaken the foundation of the Covenant religion. It had proved, beyond a doubt, that not only was the Great Journey a lie, but that the Forerunners were no more than mortals and the ancestors of humanity. The Covenant faith lost nearly all of it's supporters overnight. Even most of the Jiralhanae, the most faithful of it's followers, abandoned it.

The Prophet of Salvation glassed several Jiralhanae Separatist planets, killing millions, with the intention of going on to wipe out every last living thing that did not believe in his faith. The response to Salvation, was just as amazing as it was unbelievable. Every last species, Human, Sangheili, Huragok, Mgalekgolo, Yanme'e, Kig-yar even Unggoy rose to arms in response to the Jiralhanae Separatists' call for aid. The combined powers of the alliance, temporarily dubbed Allied Species, was something to be feared. Salvation's fleets were smashed into oblivion, and his armies massacred. Though Salvation's army was nearly completely eradicated, his body was never found, yet he was presumed dead.

Many expected the alliance to dissolve a few weeks after Salvation's disappearance. To the surprise of many, it lasted. Having done battle side by side, had caused many of the species to overlook the hatred they had felt towards one another, and see each other in a new light. Several months after the defeat of Salvation, the declaration became official, the Allied Species was now a galactic power.

Humans especially welcomed this as assistance for recovery, which had been plentiful even before the founding of the alliance, increased ten fold. By 2595, humanity had been restored to it's former power. Fresh colonies had been built on planets that had finally become de-glassed after years of painstaking effort, as well as new planets. Humanity has also experienced massive technological advances, both civilian and military. They most well known form of this technology being applied, is Project Olympus.

Project Olympus was created in order to bolster the effectiveness of UNSC infantry. While it had been undeniable that SPARTANS were next to unstoppable, they simply couldn't be everywhere at once. Therefore it had been decided that the average soldier needed upgrades, for they had been massively outclassed in the Human-Covenant war.

Project Olympus was a 100% success. Every single UNSC soldier now receives genetic augmentations, with a 100% survival rate. These augmentations fall short of the ones SPARTANs received, but they still are very helpdul. They include, increased mussle mass, increased lungcapacity, a decrease in reflex time by 30% and enchanced senses. Marines wear Mark V SPI armor, now upgraded to enhance speed and strength, and are equipped with personal shielding, although it still falls short of MJOLNIR's capabilities. ODSTs have had their regular armor upgraded with personal shielding, improved alloys, and an improved HUD.

The members of the Allied Species are currently prospering, some of them experiencing a freedom they have only dreamed of. The Unggoy, normally only taught how to pull a trigger on a gun, and throw a grenade before being sent out to die, are now trained much more thoroughly in the military, making them much more capable. With the majority of their Extremists dead or in hiding, the Jiralhanae began a slow, yet steady trek towards a more peaceful look upon things. They are no longer complete and utter savages as they once were, but they have yet to become pacifists.

This story begins on the CSS-Battle Cruiser _Staggering Strike _currently on a deep space mission, searching for any other space faring civilizations.

"You know," said ODST Lance Corporal, Aaron Colton, as he lined up a shot on a shooting range "It's creepy when you think about it. Odds are our parents tried to kill each other, and we're best friends."

Ramore 'Altre, a fully armored SpecOp Sangheili, wearing a combat helmet instead of the regular assault, looked up from the holo-pad he was reading off of. "Yes it is indeed ironic," he said in a level, calm voice seen in most Sangheili. They were in the _Staggering Strike's _shooting range room, Aaron was practicing his shooting, while Ramore was reading human literature, which fascinated him.

Ramore and Aaron were an odd pair. On the outside they had nothing in common, Aaron being rather young, only 20, while Ramore was nearing his 40s. Then there was the obvious fact that Aaron was a Human and Ramore a Sangheili. This gap alone would prevent a stable relationship from being formed yet somehow they had pulled it off, possibly due to the fact that they had fought back to back in several engagements against Xenophobic terrorists. The respect that other species felt for each other rarely expanded beyond the militarry, as many civilians were still bitter about the Human-Covenant war. Aaron was a sniper who also doubled as a combat medic, while Ramore was a swordsman, who had also managed to become an ace pilot. Ramore was also a decent shot with a carbine, and Aaron was pretty good with an SMG to boot. Both of them had not been in the military for long, but they both had decent records, both of them stating that they worked well together in the field.

Ramore and Aaron were so close, that Aaron had received an honor that precious few humans had experienced. He had been deemed an honorary member of the 'Altre family and had had their family crest, a green energy sword crossing with a purple one, branded on his armor. Ramore also had one of these symbols branded on his right shoulder plate.

A moderate level vibration shook the _Staggering Strike _for a few seconds before it dissipated. "Must've dropped out of slip space," Aaron muttered. A few minutes pasted, in which Aaron continued to shoot targets with his sniper rifle, and Ramore continued to read. Then, without warning, red lights and sirens burst into life all over the ship.

"Attention all hands!" came the thundering voice of the Sangheili shipmaster thought the intercom and all communication devices connect to the Battle-Net "When we left slip space, three ships of unknown origin approached us! They have not responded to hails and they are preparing their weapons for firing! Prepare for combat!" The second these words were spoken, an explosion rocked the ship.

"They must have caught us with our shields down!" shouted Ramore, dropping the holo-pad, and pulling a carbine off his back, but not before checking to make sure that his dual energy swords were still attached to his thighs. Aaron slapped his sniper rifle onto the magnetic-clamp on the back of his armor, before de-attaching the SMG on his own thigh.

A second explosion rocked the ship, this one much stronger than the last, and panicked voices rang out across the Battle-Net. "That last one hit our engines! We're going down!"

"Grab onto something!" Aaron shouted, taking a firm grip on the doorframe, while Ramore held the other end.

"All hands, brace for impact!" shouted the shipmaster over the Battle-Net, as Aaron and Ramore felt the ship slowly tip forward. The floor began to slide out beneath them, causing them to stand at an angle, until soon their feet were dangling in midair. At this point the Staggering Strike was in a complete nose-dive heading straight for the surface of a planet that it had been shot down in orbit of.

"Oh man this is gonna leave a mark!" Aaron shouted, as he felt the ship pick up velocity as it plummeted towards the planet's surface. Then the ship hit solid ground. Aaron and Ramore were thrown forward, hitting the walls with a tremendous thud and leaving massive dents. There was a horrible grinding sound as the ship plough through what sound like rock, and them silence.

Aaron and Ramore got to their feet, weapons ready. The crash had caused some of the lights to go out, and sparks were emitting from wires that had become lose. "All combat units!" rang a different voice over the Battle-Net "The Shipmaster was killed in the crash, I will be taking his place. We have been shot down, and landed on an unknown planet. We are sending out an SOS single, but the ships that attacked us are sending down dropships, most likely to hunt for survivors. We have established three points from which we can defend the remains of the ship, the Infirmary, the ammunition storage room, and the Cafeteria, head to the one closest to you as quickly as possible!"

"The Infirmary is the one closest to our position!" Ramore shouted as he and Aaron dashed out of the shooting range. As the made their way to the infirmary. As the made their way through the destroyed ship, they saw that they had gotten off easy. Soldiers of all species were being rushed to the infirmary, one Magegleko holding half a dozen Unggoy, who were all bleeding from various areas.

Along with several dozen other soldiers, half of them being transported there for treatment, Ramore and Aaron, ran into the Infirmary. There were around 50 tables, half of them already full, in the Infirmary. Apparently the crash had completely torn off the far wall, giving a view onto a long sandy terrain, and leaving the ship completely open to enemy entry. A makeshift barricade was being made of various tables, and scrap metal that had been torn out of the wall by the stronger species. Plasma and machine gun turrets, one of each, had been set up and were being manned, by a Jiralhanae and a Marine respectively.

"What is our condition?" Ramore asked a Sangheili Zealot, who was organizing the defenses.

"Ill," replied the Zealot "Half of our number perished in the crash along with the Shipmaster. Nearly all of our vehicles were destroyed, or made completely useless. However, if we can maintain strategic positions throughout the ship, keeping an even number of supplies flowing in-between them, then we should be able to hold out against their ground assault until help arrives."

"Incoming!" shouted the Marine on the machine gun, as it roared to life. Enemy drop ships had landed as enemy soldiers were making their was out, firing at the hole in the hull. Their fire was very inaccurate though, and the Allied Species soldiers quickly returned fire, the enemy soldiers quickly collapsing underneath the strain. But as they fell, they did not bleed, for they were…

"Machines?" shouted Aaron, as he fired a burst from his SMG. It did not fire normal bullets however. Humans had long since upgraded their firearms, to fire superheated bullets, mimicking the Jiralhanae Spiker. They were decent against shields and very effective at tearing through metal, and due to the fact that they could be made smaller and not lessen in damage, they also allowed for larger clip sizes. "Who the hell uses machines for soldiers?"

"A good question, but now is not the time to be asking it, look!" shouted Ramore. More dropships were landing, but these ones were landing father away, out of range of most small arms, with the possible exception of a sniper. More machines, some an odd pale color, some silver, and some a rust like color that seemed to roll and deploy. "Unless I am mistaken," said Ramore "I would say they are attempting to place a siege on us."

"It certainly looks that way," said the Zealot. "Soldiers of the Allied Species, ready yourselves. A long hard battle awaits us."

"I'm not waiting for them to come to us," said Aaron, as he swapped his SMG for his sniper rifle and fired a shot. Despite the fact that they were nearly half a mile away, one of the machines stumbled backwards and fell over, not to get up again.

Ramore laughed "An excellent shot, but I hope you have more in you, we shall be needing many more."

"You insult me Ramore," said Aaron, his grin hidden by his polarized helmet, as he fired another shot at the machines, who had began to march forward.

High up in orbit, on the bridge one of the ships that had grounded the _Staggering Strike _a large machine shouted at a pale green humanoid sitting in a captain's chair. "Tar Muk, why did you engage that ship! It was a military vessel you fool! You may have just angered the organization that commanded it into joining the Republic!"

"I understand my mistake General Grievous," said Tar Muk cautiously, but I have a plan to rectify my error. Already I have droids swarming the downed ship. They will kill everything down there and then there will no record of our sin here. Better yet, we might even be able to fool their leaders into thinking that the Republic did it."

"You Neimoidians my be good business men, but you are poor military commanders," said Grievous angrily. "Mark my words, if this situation grows out of control, it will come down on your head!" With that, the angry cyborg general, walked out of the room.

Tar Muk gulped nervously, and tapped a button of the armrest of his chair. "Yes, double the number of droids to be deployed," he said.

Light-years away, on the bridge of a triangle shaped ship, a bearded man shouted at a man with a mechanical arm. "For goodness sake Anakin, I can't keep coming by to pick you up every time you decide to smash your ship into a CIS command ship!"

"Aw come on Obi-Wan," said Anakin "This was only the second time."

"What about Ryloth?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Ok, third time," said Anakin, a little sheepishly.

"Oh, by the Force Anakin, your Padawan acts more than mature than you now, she's been more mature than you for two years, since she was 15! Where is Ahsoka anyway?"

"Her room," said Anakin "She's dead tired."

"No doubt," said Obi-Wan "I know I would be if my master made a hobby of crashing his ship. Honestly Anakin, the council sends you on a simple mission to transport the Senator of Naboo to Tatooine for negotiations with the Hutts, yet somehow who get sidetracked, decided to attack a CIS fleet all by yourself, lose your ship, and cause your Padawan and the Senator to collapse in their rooms from exhaustion!"

"Hey we took out the entire CIS fleet didn't we?" asked Anakin.

"That's not the point the point is…" But Obi-Wan was intercepted when a button began to glow and beep on the command board. "An incoming transmission," muttered Obi-Wan, as he and Anakin ran to the command board, and Obi-Wan pressed the button.

A powerful yet calm voice came out of the speakers. "This is the second in command of the CSS-battle cruiser _Staggering Blow. _We have been shot down by unknown enemies and have crash landed on an uncharted desert planet. The hostile forces are surrounding the wreckage of our vessel and are trying to eliminate us. We will hold our ground as long as we can, but we require assistance. Requesting any Allied Species warships within range to assist immediately! This message repeats. This is the second in command of the CSS…" Obi-Wan, turned off the message and looked at the command board.

"It's coming from Tatooine," he said "It might be the CIS attacking those people."

"On it," said Anakin as he activated his communicator "Snips you there?"

"What?" came a tired voice from the other end.

"We're responding to an SOS from Tatooine, so I'm going to need you up here in ten minutes."

Ahsoka gave a barely audible groan before saying "I'll be right there Skyguy," and then the connection closed.

"Cody," said Obi-Wan. "Take us to Tatooine."

New Characters, new Plot Elements, New Fighting for a Purpose. This is a rewrite of my best fanfic to date, I will try to balance this will all of ther other fan fics I'm writing but I'm not worried. Please tell me what you think about it so far.


	2. Battle Royale

Chapter 2

Battle Royale

Well I'd like to thank the people who reviewed, now without further ado here you go.

Hours had past, and the attempted advanced on the wreck of the _Staggering Strike _and the attempts by the machines to gain ground had yet too cease. Heavy fire from the entrenched Allied Species soldiers, who had torn, and burned holes to shoot out of all over the ship, was effectively halting the advance of the machines. Indeed, a tremendous pile of scrap was building up between the machines and the _Staggering Strike. _But things were just beginning to look bleak, as gigantic metal masses began to plow their way through the machine graveyard, firing devastating shots as they went.

"Tanks!" shouted the Marine manning the machine gun in the infirmary, as one of the blasts came a little too close for comfort. The soldiers in the infirmary had constantly been under heavy fire, for the machines seemed to have decided that it was one of the best places to enter to wreckage. Despite their best efforts to fortify it, many shots from the machines' weapons had managed to find their way into the infirmary and hit the soldiers stationed there. Indeed, nearly all of the beds in the infirmary were occupied now by wounded troopers, with Huragok floating over them, attempting to nurse the wounds to the best of their ability, as well as repair damaged equipment that the defenders intended to use.

The Mgalekgolo pair, the same one that carried half a dozen Unggoy to safety, moved to the front of the defensive forces and fired continuous beams from their assault cannons. The beams collided with two of the advancing tanks, causing them to explode with tremendous force. The Mgalekgolo continued to fire their cannons at the advancing armor, but by themselves they could only do so much. "Someone, retrieve an anti-tank weapon from the armory!" shouted the Zealot, who was desperately attempting to hold their position, despite the fact that their numbered were slowly being chipped away.

"Busy keeping people alive here!" shouted Aaron, who was attempted to balance his shooting with attempting to staunch the bleeding from a Marine that had managed to get shot in the chest before his shields had had time to recharge. There simply weren't enough Huragoks to nurse the piling up wounded, so he had had to step up.

"I shall go!" shouted Ramore, who ran as fast as his powerful legs would carry him, towards the armory. Things looked bad, the wreckage was now shaking, for the tanks had begun to bombard the wreckage, assisted by air support that was mercilessly strafing any soldier who stuck his or her head out for too long. "We shall not perish today," Ramore swore to himself, as he passed two Jiralhanae supporting a third and heading for the infirmary. Ramore reached the armory, and grabbed a fuel rod cannon off of the wall. "And if we do, these machines will venture to the fiery depths of hell with us!" he added, as he sprinted back to the infirmary, holding the fuel rod cannon and as much ammunition as he could carry.

"So what exactly is happening master?" asked Ahsoka as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. She had matured a great deal since she had first met Anakin and Obi-Wan. She could still be hyperactive and a little reckless, be she had learned long ago when the appropriate times for acting like that, and battle was not one of them. Sometimes, Anakin jokingly said that maybe she would have made it as Obi-Wan's Padawan after all. She had also matured a great deal physically, with her lekku reaching full length and her montrals also fully maturing. She had also thrown out most of her wardrobe in exchange for light brown Jedi robes. Needless to say, Obi-Wan was pleased and proud of the progress Ahsoka was making, for as he commonly said when Anakin wasn't around "Sometimes I think Yoda assigned you to him so that he would show you how not to do things."

"SOS coming from Tatooine," said Anakin "Communications didn't match anything we've seen before, and they said something about something called the Allied Species and being under attack by an unknown enemy."

"That sounds like an organization," said Ahsoka "And the unknown enemy could be the CIS attacking them."

"My thoughts exactly Ahsoka," said Obi-Wan, trying not to show how pleased he was that Ahsoka was grabbing on so quickly.

"So we're going to assist them," said Ahsoka "Where am I going to be during this operation?"

"On the ground with Obi-Wan," said Anakin.

"Yes I believe that would be for the be…wait a moment," said Obi-Wan slowly "Wouldn't that leave you alone…On the ship?" he said putting much more emphasis on the last three words.

"Yeah," said Anakin slowly.

"Right after the last mission?" asked Ahsoka, who seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Obi-Wan.

"That's right," said Anakin.

"One ship per day is enough Anakin," said Obi-Wan "You better not be do what I think you're going to do."

"Now master," said Anakin smiling widely "Whatever do you mean?"

Ahsoka couldn't help but giggle a little bit at her master's feigned stupidity. Before Obi-Wan could say anything more Cody shouted at them from the command board "We're dropping out of hyperspace in five minutes!"

"I think we better get down to the gun ships," said Ahsoka to Obi-Wan who nodded as they both dashed down to the hanger.

Ramore made a disgusted face as he fired the fuel rod cannon at the oncoming machines, sending bits of metal flying. He hated heavy weapons, they simply seemed so disgraceful when used outside of a vehicle. Yet his yearning to survive caused him to temporarily swallow his pride and fire the weapon in his hands. Make no mistake, the second he ran out of ammunition for it, he would gladly which back to his carbine.

The machines were slowly but surely gaining ground, as the amount of defensive firepower slowly decreased. The one good thing about them getting closer, was they were now in range of the Unggoy's new weapons. The small gray soldiers had been using plasma rifles until now. They now fired what were essentially plasma grenade launchers, each one being able to fire four grenades a fair distance before needing to be reloaded. The Unggoy had come a long way. There were far from the pitiful cowards the had been half a centaury ago, now they much braver, more well educated, and much better shots.

Still even with this newfound source of casualties, the machines continued forward, clearly not showing any thought to saving ammunition as they fired nonstop. The machines weren't the best of shots, but the red bolts managed to take the heads clean off of both of the gunners. "Fall back to the armory!" roared the Zealot "Get the wounded out of here!" The Zealot grabbed a wounded Marine and a Kig-Yar, and retreated into the depths of the _Staggering Strike _other soldiers carrying wounded right behind him. Aaron and Ramore were the last ones to leave, with Aaron emptying another sniper rifle magazine and Ramore firing the last shot of the fuel rod cannon. Aaron slapped his rifle onto the magnetic clamp on the back of his armor and grabbed his SMG, while Ramore simply dropped the fuel rod cannon, activating both of his energy swords. Only after this did the duo escape to the safety of the inner wreckage. They were so hasty in retreating, the Allied Species soldiers did not notice a new ship appear in the sky.

"Three Banking class ships," Obi-Wan said as he and Ahsoka rode down to thee planet's surface in one of two dozen LAAT gunships. "Maybe we should've gone for help first. I'm not sure one of our cruisers can take on three of them."

"Too late to be thinking about what we could've done." said Ahsoka "More of a time to be thinking about what we're going to do."

"Are you sure that you're Anakin's Padawan?" asked Obi-Wan causing them both to give a brief laugh."

Ahsoka fell silent as she looked down at the destroyed ship. It was bright purple and Ahsoka couldn't help but think, even though it was a twisted image of what it had once been, that it had been designed by an artist, for it looked completely beautiful, or at least, she thought that it had once. They had agreed it would be unwise to land directly on top of the wreckage to provide support to the people that had sent the SOS. Apparently some sort of makeshift anti-aircraft guns dotted the roof of the downed ship, shooting down CIS dropships that came too close, and doing their best to take out strafing Vulture droids.

Without warning, and explosion rocked the LAAT, sending it into a deadly spiral. "Vulture droid got us!" shouted the pilot as he desperately fought to gain control of the ship.

"Jump!" shouted Obi-Wan as he and Ahsoka leapt out of the side of the gunship. Fortunately they had only been a dozen feet for two above the ground when they had been hit, and the sand beneath them cushioned their fall. the gunship hit the ground, not to far away, and exploded, becoming a ball of fire. "Quick," said Obi-Wan, as he and Ahsoka ignited their light sabers "Into the wreckage. We're completely exposed out here."

Spotting a hole in the side of the ship that looked like it had been torn open when the ship crashed, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka slipped inside it. "Oh my…" said Ahsoka as she looked around the interior. Even thought the ship was in ruins there was no mistaking that her earlier assumption was correct, the ship was completely beautiful. The architecture seem to curve gracefully, yet still be structurally sound.

"Magna Guard!" shouted Obi-Wan pointing his light saber down the hallway that they had entered. One of the droids created specifically to hunt down Jedi was standing at the end. But it was not looking at them, instead it was holding it's staff, sparkling with purple electricity, in a fighting stance, facing an unseen opponent. A roar was heard, and a massive alien in black armor charged at the Magna Guard slamming it's shoulder into the droid, slamming it into the wall and crushing it. The alien seemed to be wielding what could be mistaken for light sabers, but they were double bladed, and more complexly designed. The alien turned it's head to look back the way it came, as an unseen person said "You know I don't understand why you carry around those energy swords if you just going to slam into them."

"An energy sword is a Sangheili's honor Aaron," Ramore said to the ODST. "Also I was feeling a little infuriated at our heavy loses. That pitiful peace of scrap just happened to be the closest thing to me to release some of my tension into."

"What about these two?" asked Aaron, pointing at two crippled machines that lay in-between them.

"You shot one, and my energy sword was faster," said Ramore.

"Um, excuse me?" said a voice from behind Ramore. Ramore spun around so fast that Aaron was surprised that he didn't get whiplash, and held his energy swords in a fighting stance. He found himself facing a Human, and an alien that he had never encountered before that had bright orange skin. They were both holding what appeared to be single bladed energy swords, the human's blue, while the alien's was green.

"What's got you spooked?" asked Aaron, as he walked to where Ramore stood. As he caught of the newcomers, he raised his SMG and pointed it at them. "And who might you be?" he said calmly.

"Now then you won't be needing that," said the human, pointing at Aaron's SMG. "We're here to help you. I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi, and this is Ahsoka Tano. We're Jedi from the Galactic Republic."

"You're who from the what?" said Aaron having absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

Obi-Wan couldn't believe what he was hearing. These people had never heard about Jedi or the Republic? Everyone knew about the Republic, even those living in the very depths of the Outer Rim. When these thoughts were going through his head the tall alien spoke. "We were on a deep space mission when those dishonorable abominations crippled our vessel. As a matter of fact, I do believe we left our galaxy."

"You're not from this galaxy?" asked Ahsoka.

"No we're not," said the man in black armor lowering his SMG. "And since you came all the way out here to help us, it's only polite we introduce ourselves. I am Aaron Colton, honorary member of the 'Altre family, and this is Ramore 'Altre also of the 'Altre family."

"So tell me," said Ramore, lowering his energy swords but not deactivating them "What support did you bring."

"A Republic cruiser, and a brigade of clones," answered Obi-Wan "Althoght seeing the number of droids that are here, that may not be enough, so you're not out of hot water yet."

"Clones?" said Aaron "You mean to tell me that you have clones for soldiers?" Ramore made a sound that clearly showed disgust. Sangheili considered many things to be dishonorable, apparently cloning entire armies was one of them.

"Later," said Obi-Wan looking out of the ship. The other LAAT gunships had landed, and the clones were now engaging the droids. The droids had suffered heavy casualties, and the clones were making good headway against them. In fact, many of the soldiers that had been entrenched in the bowels of the wreckage, were now charging at the droids to meet them head on. "Looks like their ground offensive is collapsing," said Obi-Wan.

"Well that's good," said Aaron "But what about those three warships that are still floating above us."

"Hold on," said Ahsoka as she produced her communicator and activated it. "Master how are things on your end?" she said.

"Not too good snips," came the reply from Anakin. "I managed to take out one of the CIS ships, but we took one heck of a beating. I'm trying to think about what I can…hold on some weird white portal just opened not too far away. A ship is coming out."

"Slip space," said Ramore to Anakin who nodded.

The second that this was said, a signal came through the Battle-Net to Ramore and Aaron's headsets. "This is Vadmare 'Katar of the CCS-battle cruiser _Glorious Victory._ We are here to assist the survivors of the _Staggering Strike._"

"Thank Christ," said Aaron.

High up in orbit, a Vadmare 'Katar, a Sangheili shipmaster with a long and brutal career, sat in his gravity chair and looked out at the scene before him. Three other ships were in orbit, two of a metallic color that were straight and rigged, and a triangular shaped one that had red and gold symbols on it. They seemed to be trading fire. There was a destroyed ship that resembled the two gray ones, presumably destroyed by the other one. A transmission was currently coming in from the survivors of the _Staggering Strike. _"What is it?" said Vadmare in a deep, calm voice that most Sangheili had.

"Shipmaster," came the voice of another Sangheili "We have received some support from a power known as the Galactic Republic. I request that you assist their cruiser, which is currently in orbit fighting the warships that shot us down."

"Request granted," said Vadmare as he closed the connection. "Charge pulse lasers and load plasma torpedoes. Target the bridge of the farthest ship." He raised his hand to his com link again. "Jen, please report to the hanger bay, you have a mission."

"He said he would provide support," said Ramore as the looked at Obi-Wan and Ahsoka.

"Good thing too," said Aaron, who was now sniping out of the hole in the hull. "If your cruiser got shot down we'd be right back where we started. By the way you have any idea who the people who attacked us are?"

"They're called the CIS," said Ahsoka.

"We've been in a civil war with them for nearly three years now," said Obi-Wan

"Why the hell did they attack us if they're fighting you?" asked Aaron looking away from his sniper rifle. "I would think that they wouldn't go looking around for more enemies if they're already in the middle of a war."

"The CIS usually attack planets and ships in order to bolster their economy," said Ahsoka. "I guess they were thinking about Tatooine, the planet we're on, when you guys came into the picture."

"These cowards will pay for what they have done," said Ramore anger making it's way into his voice. "When the leaders of the Allied Species hear of what had occurred today, there will be war."

"The Allied Species?" said Ahsoka a confused look on her face.

"The alliance that we're a part of," said Aaron. "Eight species spread across thousands of planets. These CIS bastards don't now what they got themselves into."

"Thousands of planets with only eight species?" said Obi-Wan, his eyes widening. "Even the Neimoidians only have a handful of planets."

Ahsoka seemed to be interested in something else that Aaron had said however. "What do you mean they don't now that they got themselves into?" she asked.

"Are you familiar with the concept of glassing?" asked Ramore.

Vadmare 'Katar made his way through the _Glorious Victory _heading for the hanger bay. He had left his second in command on charge of engaging the enemy warships. The fact had occurred to him that they knew absolutely nothing about the organization commanding these ships, so he had devised a plan to find out about them.

Vadmare entered the hanger to find it mostly empty, most of the fighters and Phantoms having already been launched to provide support, but in the center one person stood. It was a Human, around seven feet tall, wearing white Hayabusa armor with a Katana on the back. The Human saluted Vadmare as he drew close. "Jen," said Vadmare "I have a mission for you. In the hands of anyone else it would be suicide, but for you it'll be a walk in the park. I want you to board one of the enemy warships, and hack their database and download as much information as you can. That is your main objective, however if the opportunity presents itself, capture the commander of the warship and bring him back for interrogation."

"Sir, yes, sir," said Jen

Vadmare gave a small smile. "I'm not going to lie to you, I believe that war is going to come a result of today. What better way to start a war than striking fear into the hearts of our enemies with a SPARTAN IV like you?"

Yup the SPARTAN project is back, and they use katanas. I couldn't help but feel that the Katana did nothing but sit around and look pretty, so I created the SPARTAN IV. You will see that they are capable of next chapter.


	3. Infiltration

Chapter 3

Infiltration

Upon pondering one of my reviews I decided to change around the average UNSC trooper a bit. They still receive augmentations but they're not as great. Go read the revised chapter 1 for full details.

SPARTAN IV. The new generation of the legendary super soldier. After the Human-Covenant war, investigations of the SPARTAN II project were made. Many ONI personal were arrested for kidnapping, child abuse, and crimes against humanity, for robbing 75 children of the chance to live a normal life. While the SPARTAN IIs saved countless lives, there was no doubt that the project was inhumane. As a result, when ONI requested permission to start the SPARTAN IV project, it was very heavily regulated.

SPARTAN IVs are military volunteers that were invited to join the project by ONI. Tens of thousands of Marines and ODSTs were recruited into the SPARTAN IV project, yet nearly all of them would "wash out". Many of them would quit because of the intensiveness of the program, others were forced out, and some even died. Those who stayed in went through ten years of intense training, and the result was magnificent.

SPARTAN IVs are currently numbered in the hundreds, with more currently in training. They are equipped with Hayabusa armor, which gives more speed than MJOLNIR but less power. The SPARTAN IVs are also equipped with a new weapon that has become their symbol, the Katana. The Katana had taken years to develop, with countless failed prototypes, until the desired result was finally achieved. A SPARTAN IV's Katana is made out of experimental and incredible dense alloys. It is capable of standing up to an energy sword and it can cut through other metals with barley any resistance, in part due to the SPARTAN's enhanced strength. Despite the fact that SPARTAN IVs were very impressive, they still fell short of the legendary SPARTAN IIs, nonetheless, ONI was happy with the current status of the project. Billions were spent on the project, but as with SPARTAN II, many believed that it was well worth the cost.

Vadmare 'Katar had been lucky enough to have one of these super soldiers stationed on his ship. Said SPARTAN, Jen-271, was currently on a Seraph fighter heading towards the enemy warship without any support. "You do realize that this mission has a very low success rate, right?" asked a voice in Jen's helmet. That was Jen's Smart A.I. Matthew, he was rather mechanical in his thinking sometimes, but he also understood the concept of things such as the value of life.

"Yes," said Jen in a cool level voice "But isn't the whole purpose of the SPARTAN project? To make soldiers who prove that there is no such as an impossible or a suicide mission."

"Agreed," said Matthew. "By the way, a dozen fighters are on their way to intercept you." Jen looked at the radar, indeed several drones that were acting as sentries for the ship were heading her way.

"I don't have time to fight them off," said Jen as she gripped the controls. "I'll have to slip through them and get into the hanger. Jen accelerated to maximum speed, firing bursts of the plasma at the approaching drones. Two of them went up in flames while the rest broke formation as Jen sped right thought them.

"That looks like a hanger bay," said Jen as she spotted an opening in the ship with more drones pouring out. Jen sped forward heading towards the opened, shooting down a couple of drones as she sped up. With reflexes that would make most aces look like snails in comparison, Jen dodged several drones that were taking off as she entered, her fighter skidding across the floor of the hanger bay. Barely registering a force field sealing the hanger bay, Jen opened the cockpit and jumped out, drawing her Katana with her right hand and a SMG with the left. As she landed, she cut a silver plated machine in half with no trouble at all, and turned to face the other machines that were approaching her.

"This'll take awhile," said Matthew.

"Yeah, all of fifteen seconds," said Jen as she charged the oncoming machines.

"How many of these damn things to they have?" shouted Aaron in a frustrated voice as he gunned down a battle droid with his SMG. While the clones had halted the advance of the droids, quite a few had already made their way into the wreckage. The few remaining Allied Species soldiers were combating them, along with Obi-Wan and Ahsoka.

"The CIS have billions of, if not more, droids in their army," said Obi-Wan. "What we see down here is not even a fraction of their strength," he said as he sliced a droid in half.

"Not helping master!" Ahsoka shouted as she deflected a shot back at the droid who had fired it causing it to collapse.

"We've been at this for hours!" Aaron shouted as he ejected his empty magazine and replaced it with a fresh one. "I'm down to my last clip."

"Then use your weapon as a club when it is out of munitions!" Roared Ramore as he kicked a droid to the ground and then stabbed it with his energy sword. "Keep up your strength, I feel that the end is within reach!"

Jen examined the pile of disabled and destroyed machines before her. They had been very inefficient, with many of them not even shooting properly and most of the others being unable to go any faster than a walk. It had taken a minute for Jen to eliminate them all. "Back to the mission," Jen muttered as she heard something heavy hit the ground behind her. Spinning around, Jen fired her SMG at a large figure that was standing behind her. The figure produced what appeared to be a one bladed energy sword and blocked her bullets, which liquefied on contact. As her SMG clicked empty, Jen placed it on the magnetic lock on her left side and held her katana with both hands, and began to size up her opponent.

"If you want something done you need to do it yourself," said the figure, a large silvery machine, that seemed to have organic eyes as it took another energy sword look alike and activated it. "And who might you be?" said the figure, looking at Jen.

"Jen-271," said Jen in an emotionless voice "You?"

"You do not recognize me fool! I am General Grievous! Slayer of Jedi, scourge of the incompetent, fear of the Republic, and end of your life!"

"Never heard of you." said Jen, as she broke into a run and swung her katana at Grievous. The general brought up both of his blades to block the katana, and pushed back to throw Jen back. Grievous attempted his own offensive, bringing both of his blades down in an attempt to slice Jen in half. Jen blocked both blades and made a swipe a Grievous' face. The tip of her katana missed his face by centimeters.

Grievous dove and rolled to the side, attempted to slash at Jen as he propelled himself upward by pushing off of the ground. Jen intercepted his blades with her own and attempted to smash Grievous' face by kicking it. The general hastily jumped back holding both of his blades up in a fighting stance.

Jen and Grievous stared at each other, sizing each other up and planning new ways on how to approach the task at hand. 'What is this thing?" Grievous thought angrily. 'It moves and fights like a Jedi, no one else can move that fast!'

Jen was thinking along the same lines. 'What is he? The result of some sort of super soldier program? Possible, he could be the only one of his kind but I don't see that as likely.'

Jen noticed that Grievous had changed his stance and was most likely about to charge her. She took up a stance to prepare for it, but before either of them could make a move a shockwave rocked the ship. Both combats stumbled, and instinctively looked out of the hanger in an attempt to see the origin of the shockwave. Apparently the _Glorious Victory _and the triangle shaped ship had concentrated fire on the other enemy warship which had just exploded, creating the shockwave.

Grievous made a noise the clearly showed that he was disgusted, and threw one of his blades at Jen. The SPARTAN threw herself to the side and rolled to avoid the spinning blade, which sliced through the remains of her Seraph fighter. Grievous turned and ran to an oddly shaped flat fighter and jumped into the cockpit as the engines roared to life. 'To stay on this ship is to die,' Grievous thought angrily to himself, there was no way that the warship would survive a 2 on 1 fight. Grievous deactivated the shields sealing the hanger bay and sped out, the shields automatically reactivated as he left.

Jen gazed out into space for a few seconds, wondering if she would see that thing again. She then examined her Seraph fighter, or what was left of it, and produced the blade that Grievous had thrown at her. She gave it a couple of experimental swings, then deactivated it and placed it on the magnetic clamp on her right side, muttering to herself "I think I'll hold onto this." She then sprinted off, deeper into the ship.

"What do you meant you abandoned ship?" Tar Muk shouted into his communications.

"This is your mess not mine," Grievous replied. "I told you if this situation grew out of control it would come down on your head. Now you will have to deal with these people on your own, and I don't think that they'll be very happy with you," and with that Grievous severed the communications.

Tar Muk sat back in his chair, his heart thumping, his two super battledroid bodyguards on either side of him. Things looked bad, he was outnumbered and running on borrowed time. "Activate the hyperspace drive," he said to the droids manning the controls "Get us out of here, I don't care where, just get us away from this planet." The droids at the consoles hastened to carry out his commands, typing at various control panels. But before they could finish, several shots rang out and the droids collapsed, several holes appering in the back of their heads. Standing in the entrance to the bridge was a massive figure in white armor, holding some sort of gun in one hand and a glinting sword in the other.

The figure charged forward, firing a burst that took down the droid to the right of Tar Muk and then sliced the one to the left of him in half. Tar Muk hastily drew a blaster from his side and fired a shot at the white armor figure. The armored warrior slid it's sword into a sheath on it's back as it turned to face Tar Muk. The shot stopped short of the figure's face when it hit some sort of barrier. It slapped the blaster out of Tar Muk's hand, and then grabbed him by the throat. The Neimoidian struggled in the iron grip of his captor when a cool level voice spoke. "Quit squirming, I can break your neck like a twig without even trying."

Jen watched as the thin green scaled alien ceased his struggling. With a great deal of self control and restraint so that she wouldn't kill it, she struck the side of the alien's head, knocking it out. Throwing the alien over her shoulder, Jen walked over to the control panels. "Matthew, hack into their system and download everything remotely useful."

She heard a word of confirmation from Matthew, as he began the downloads. A few seconds later Matthew said one word "Done."

"A.I.s certainly don't disappoint," said Jen, the faintest bit of amusement in her voice.

"Something else," said Matthew "I found the activation for their self-destruct sequence. I can activate it at any time from anyplace that is still in this system."

"Interesting," said Jen "Which way to the escape pods?"

"I think that's the last of them," said Aaron as he leaned on his sniper rifle. He had been forced to use it due to the fact that his SMG had run out of ammunition, fortunately not many droids had been left at that point. The majority of the land forces had been wiped out, with the clones cleaning up the handful of survivors

"Thank goodness for that," said Ahsoka, deactivating her light saber as placing it on her belt.

"I just want to say this right now while Ramore and that Obi-Wan guy are out of earshot," said Aaron. Indeed, Ramore and Obi-Wan were a distance away, having a conversation of their own. "When you guys showed up, we were on our last legs, nearly all of us were dead, we were low on ammo and morale was shot to hell," he said as he walked towards Ahsoka. "I'm not really used to saying this to people I just met but," he held out his hand "Thanks for saving my life."

Ahsoka paused for a minute before she took his hand and shook it. "It's what a do, I am a Jedi after all," she said smiling.

"What is that anyway? Some sort of special force group?" asked Aaron, his puzzled look evident though his de-polarized helmet.

"Jedi are a group of warriors, comprised of people who have dedicated their life to the preservation of peace. Force sensitive children are taken at a young age to be trained to be Jedi, utilizing light saber combat," she gestured at the weapon on her belt "and use of the Force in combat and peace."

"The Force? What's that?" asked Aaron

"You…you've never heard of the Force?" asked Ahsoka. Aaron shook his head. "The Force is…well a kind of energy field that all living things emanate. It binds the galaxy together. Force sensitizes are capable of manipulating the Force to use it for various purposes." To emphasize her point, Ahsoka waved her hand and her light saber floated off of her belt and hovered in midair for a few seconds before it returned to her belt.

"Whoa," said Aaron, staring at the light saber "This galaxy seems like something out of a fairy tale. Where I'm from nobody can do anything even remotely close to that."

Ahsoka gave a little smile. "There are a lot of things we can learn from each other. I look forwards to getting to now you better."

Aaron returned her smile and said "Likewise."

Before the two could continue their conversation, a pod slammed into the ground just outside the ship. light sabers reignited, and rifles were pointed at the pod, located just outside the wreckage. "That's a CIS escape pod," Obi-Wan whispered to the others as they approached. The door opened, and two figures exited, a seven foot tall Human in white armor, with an unconscious Neimoidian over her shoulder.

"A SPARTAN IV?" said Ramore, lowering carbine and staring at the super soldier.

"I didn't know that we were losing that badly," said Aaron, who was returning his sniper rifle to his magnetic clamp. "Who is that by the way?" he asked pointing at Tar Muk.

"The enemy commanding officer," said Jen her emotionless voice. "Pardon me for a second," she continued as she pressed her free hand to the side of her helmet. "Now Matthew." The remaining CIS ship in orbit exploded. Aaron whistled as he watched the spectacle. "Very impressive," said Obi-Wan.

"_Glorious Victory_ this is SPARTAN-271, requesting pickup. I am carrying vital information and a prisoner of war." She glanced at the people behind her. "Also requesting pickup for the crew of the _Staggering Strike _and the soldiers that assisted them."

Well it took awhile but I finally updated, hopefully I will update more often. While the battle is finally over, but the war? Just beginning people. Just beginning.


	4. Council

Chapter 4

Council

"Your ship took a couple of hits," said Vadmare 'Katar to Anakin "But it should up and running again in a couple of days." A week had paced since the battle on Tatooine. The _Glorious Victory_ had evacuated the survivors from the _Staggering Strike _and they were to serve on the _Glorious Victory_ until further notice. In that week, the Vadmare 'Katar had insisted that the Republic cruiser accompany them back to Allied Species territory. Both ships were currently in orbit of a Sangheili colony on the edge of Allied Species territory called Pegasi Delta, not used for many things other than mining. But they weren't the only ones in orbit of the remote colony, nearly a hundred ships had assembled around the insignificant world. A meeting was taking place on a station orbiting Pegasi Delta, a meeting of the Allied Species council.

Vadmare was currently standing outside of the room where the council was gathering talking to the Jedi and Padmé Amidala. In addition, Jen and two of the survivors from the _Staggering Strike, _Aaron Colton and Ramore 'Altre, were present. "I understand some of you have been through a great ordeal," said Vadmare "But unfortunately, it is crucial that you recount the events of the battle to the council. Colton, 'Altre, you must recount to the council the events of the attack on your ship. Normally this would be the duty of your Shipmaster, but due to the fact that he is deceased," a look of disgust passed Vadmare's face "Members of his crew will have to fulfill his role, in other words you two. You four," he gestured at the Jedi and Padmé "Will have to present the standing of this republic of yours in this war. With luck you will be able to convince them to sign an alliance treaty with them."

"You mean you are entering the war?" asked Padmé uncertainly.

Vadmare let out a nasty snarl. "Those dishonorable cowards launched an unprovoked attack on an Allied Species cruiser, which resulted in the death of the majority of the personnel on board, leaving only 167 survivors. Several thousand troopers and navy personal now lie dead because of the CIS. What's more, from what you have told me, if we remain idle they may attack us again and civilians will be among the casualties. That cannot happen, we must strike first, their armies, their fleets, and their worlds will all burn until they are naught but ash and glass."

"Total war sir?" asked Ramore.

Vadmare nodded as he said "If I can persuade the council to do so, which may be within the realm of possibility. Now then," said Vadmare as he turned and walked towards the doors leading to the main chamber "The meeting is about to begin." Vadmare pressed a button near the door, and it opened as he entered, with the others following.

The chamber was a courtroom that was being used for this meeting. It was an incredibly large room the could seat hundreds easily. It was circular in shape, with the seats rising up from the center with stairwells running up and down throughout the seats, allowing those sitting there. It mimicked a stadium with the seats overlooking the center, the place were an accused was tried, or a witness gave his testimony. Surrounding the center were seven elevated platforms. Normally these platforms were used by jury, judges, and other important figures in a trial, but today, each one would hold one of the species on the council.

As the group entered the courtroom, and took up seats halfway between the top and the bottom, Ahsoka whispered to Aaron "How exactly is this going to work."

"Well," said Aaron, who had removed his helmet and placed it on a magnetic clamp on his back, revealing his jet black hair and green eyes "First of all the council will have to listen to all of the information that everyone has to present and then they'll vote on what to do with it. Each race has five representatives on the council, except the Mgalekgolo who have ten and the Huragok who have none."

Ahsoka frowned "Why's that?"

"Well when a Mgalekgolo colony develops to a certain mass, it divides just like a cell would. The two colonies share a bond you and I can only imagine, and are never found far from each other. Each pair of "Bond Brothers" is considered one vote on the council. As for the Huragok, well when the council attempted to get them involved in politics they just floated around not doing anything, so eventually they gave up on that. With seven species on the council with 5 councilors for each race, there are 45 councilors and therefore 45 votes. A majority vote is needed for the council to pass anything, a decoration of war for example."

"So these councilors control the entire Allies Species?" asked Padmé entering the conversation."

"Oh, no no," said Aaron.

"The Council lacks the power that it yearns for," said Ramore "They only pass laws that affect the entire alliance or just the Huragok, individual species maintain their own governments and pass their own laws. A decoration of war, however, is a power that is well within the Council's grasp."

"They are arriving," said Jen in her level voice, staring intently at the center of the chamber. The councilors were entering from all sides and ascending the stairs that lead to the elevated platforms, every one flanked by two troopers of the same species. The councilors had all reached a great age, the wisdom that they had accumulated allowing them onto the council. The Human councilors were old and wrinkled, puffs of gray and white hair protruding out of the navy uniforms that they were wearing. The Unggoy councilors wore brightly colored robes that flowed a short distance behind them. The Kig-yar skin was tightly pulled across their skeletons, hidden beneath their combat gear, tallies on their shoulders emphasized to display their kills. The Jiralhanae had grown their beards and fur to great lengths, and both were as white as snow, that was barely hidden beneath their robes. The Yamm'e flew weakly to their platform, their wings slightly shriveled, and they landed rather poorly standing up straight, with eyes that had refused to decay with their bodies. The Mgalekgolo were identical to the other Mgalekgolo in the chamber except that their armor was a much darker shade of blue that caused them to stick out. And last but certainly not least, the Sangheili ascended their platform, wearing the armor that they had worn in their glory days. Two Sangheili stuck out from the rest, one wearing gray armor that was covered in runes, and one wearing silver armor, who lacked is left mandibles. Thel 'Vadam and Rtas 'Vadum.

The chamber, which had been filled with quite whispers, fell silent as Thel cleared his throat. "This meeting of the Allied Species council has been called due to the attack on the CSS-Battlecruiser _Staggering Strike _that occurred a week ago and resulted in the death of it's Shipmaster and nearly everyone stationed onboard. Under normal circumstances the Shipmaster would recount the events that occurred that day, but due to the fact that he is deceased that is impossible. Fortunately Lance Corporal Aaron Colton, and Special Operations Sangheili Ramore 'Altre have volunteered to recount the events that occurred that day. If they would please make their way forward."

Aaron and Ramore both stood up from their seats and descended to the center of the chamber, where they were surrounded by the council. "Aaron Colton," said a female Human councilor "Our records show that you enlisted in the military the very day you become old enough. You have served for the past two years, taking part in diffusing several terrorist situations proving your ability as a marksman. Is this true."

"It is councilor," said Aaron "But I only successfully diffused those terrorist situations because my blood brother," he pointed his thumb at Ramore "Was watching my back." His comment earned several grunts of approval from the Sangheili councilors.

"Yes we are aware of the fact that you are considered an honorary member of the 'Altair family," said the female councilor. "And you Ramore, you were the one who granted him this title correct?"

"Only because he showed honor and bravery that would put half of my race to shame, risking his life to save the life of three dozen civilians with no support but myself. Merits that show him as a true warrior." said Ramore, the faintest hint of pride in his voice.

"Very well," said a Jiralhanae councilor "I believe that we have flattered them enough. Could you two recount the events of the attack to use?"

Aaron and Ramore recounted the events that they had experienced on Tatooine. How their ship had been caught with it's shields down, how the CIS had landed and swarmed them, pressing in on them relentlessly, how there had seemed to be no end to the swarm of droids who seemed to have no other purpose in life than killing them. They then proceeded to inform the council of the arrival of the Republic and the military assistance that they had provided. "I can honestly say," said Aaron "If they had not arrived then when the _Glorious Victory _had arrived, there would have been no survivors. I owe them my life." At this point he turned to the crowd and nodded in the direction of the Jedi and Padmé. For reasons unknown, Ahsoka felt a little hot at this point and she could've sworn that Aaron looked her directly in the eye.

"Very well," said another Human councilor "You my retake your seats." Aaron and Ramore nodded and reasoned the steps to where the others sat.

"Um," said Ahsoka, still feeling slightly hot "What was that about you fighting terrorists and saving civilians?"

"Xenophobes," said Aaron "People who don't like the idea of working with aliens and decide that blowing things up is the best way to fix it. Half a dozen of them had a bunch of civilians wired with explosives and were threatening to blow them sky high. I had to draw their attention via sniper fire, while Ramore snuck up on them and…"

"Would the representatives from the Galactic republic make their way to the front?"

"Later," said Aaron as the Jedi and Padmé made their way to the front. They did not receive the same silence that Aaron and Ramore had received, as several mutters emitted from the crowd among which were "They're human," and "What warrior wears cloth to a battle?"

As the representatives reached the center Rtas read off of a holo-pad. "Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi high master, Anakin Skywalker, Jedi knight, Ahsoka Tano, Jedi Padawan, and Padmé Amidala, Senator on the Galactic Republic Senate. Is our data accurate?" The four nodded. "Our information on this Galactic Republic is painfully limited, mainly confined to the data that was acquired by Jen-271. We were hoping that you could fill in the gaps in the data. We would also appreciate it if you could provide us with additional information on this Confederacy of Independent Systems, or CIS."

The next hour was completely dedicated to the Jedi and Padmé informing the council about he Republic and the CIS. The told the council how the CIS had seceded from the Republic and how they were currently submerged in a civil war that they had been fighting for the last three years. They also explained how the CIS had committed war crimes in order to accomplish their goals, such as using civilians as human shields on Ryloth and many other atrocities. By the time that they had finished, the councilors were moving about uncomfortably in their seats. "Thank you that will be all," said one of the Unggoy councilors as the Republic representatives returned to their seats.

"So you've been activate in combat for the past three years," Aaron whispered to Ahsoka as she sat down "That kind of makes my record pale in comparison." Ahsoka gave a smile as Vadmare rose to his feet.

"Requesting permission to address the council," said Vadmare.

"Permission granted," said Thel.

Vadmare descended the stairs to the center of the chamber where the council looked down upon him with curiosity. "I request that should a declaration of war be declared on the CIS, that the use of energy projectors may be authorized." Murmurings ran throughout the chamber as Vadmare continued "From what we have learned, the military force of the CIS is almost entirely comprised of droids, most of which posses artificial intelligence inferior to that of a dumb A.I.. Energy projectors used on military targets only, will greatly impede the ability of the CIS to make war as well as prevent the unnecessary deaths of countless Allied Species troopers."

The murmurings continued for a few seconds, before Rtas leaned forward slightly and said "We shall put it to a vote should war be declared shipmaster."

"Thank you councilor, I have nothing more to say," said Vadmare as he returned to his seat.

"If there is nothing else to be presented," said Thel "I propose that a declaration of war be issued against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. All those in favor," The hand of every last councilor raised itself, almost immediately. "Very well," said Thel "And all of those in favor of Shipmaster 'Katar's proposal on the use of energy projectors." All five Sangheili councilors raised their hands, as did all of the Jiralhanae, four of the Kig-yars three of the Humans, two of the Unggoy, one of the Yamm'e, four of the Magegleko.

"Very well," said Rtas "From this day forth the Allied Species is at war with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and as an extension the Galactic Republic is our ally. Energy projectors will be used on military targets only, no civilians are to be harmed by us, agreed?" all of the councilors nodded.

"We must return to our homes to mobilize our forces," said Thel "Go now all of you, and may your warrior spirits guide you to victory."

Well there you go, chapter number 4. Please review and tell me what you think


	5. Meet the Family

Chapter 5

Meet the Family

"Well that went well," said Aaron as he Ramore walked through the hallways of the _Glorious Victory_. "If you consider the entire Allied Species being dragged into a war in another galaxy going well that is."

"Show some pride Aaron," said Ramore "We are doing the universe a favor by wiping this collective of cowards and murders out of existence. We should be honored to be their undoers. By the way, if I may inquire you seemed to be a little distracted as of late. Care to enlighten me?"

Aaron frowned "It's the name of this ship, _Glorious Victory, _I know I've heard it somewhere before. It's on the tip of my tongue, but no matter how hard I try, I can't remember why this ship is so significant to…" Aaron paused as he and Ramore rounded a corner.

Standing on the other side was an ODST with her helmet on her back magnetic plate next to a shotgun. Her hair was cropped, and was a dark shade of brown, yet she had the same green eyes as Aaron. As Aaron and Ramore came into sight, she smiled and said "Well it was nice of you two to show up," and then proceeded to hug Aaron.

"I thought the name of this ship sounded familiar," said Aaron as he returned the hug "How are you doing Amber?"

"Sounded familiar huh?" asked Amber as she pulled away, a teasing tone in her voice "You couldn't remember the name of the ship that your own twin was on?"

"Yeah well, after my own ship smashing into some dessert planet, an entire army of droids trying to kill me, and speaking before the entire Allied Species council, I don't think that is too unreasonable that I have a little bit of trouble remembering things."

"Yeah I heard that you and Ramore had quite an adventure, must have been pretty bad if Ramore used a fuel rod," said Amber, still grinning. Ramore gave a quite snarl. "You really don't like heavy weapons do you Ramore?" asked Amber.

"No," said Ramore "They require no skill to use, any fool can use them. They are not like weapons that demand skill, such as my sword, Aaron's rifle, even your shotgun demands a certain amount of skill. Often times they use up great deals of ammunition just to kill one target, a target that Aaron could easily kill with one shot from his rifle. In the hands of a true warrior, a simple firearm can be a weapon of mass destruction. A precise, controlled, weapon of mass destruction."

"So machine gun turrets are bad, but plasma turrets on a Seraph fighter are ok?" asked Amber.

"That is different. Piloting requires a great deal of concentration and timing, it is an excellent way for a warrior to test his skill. Heavy weapons require merely that you point them in the general direction."

"Ah, there's no changing your mind Ramore," said Amber. "So anyway, I hear that a couple representatives from this Galactic Republic stuck around here to act as ambassadors, that right?"

"Yeah A Togrutan named Ahsoka Tano and a Human named Anakin Skywalker, both warriors called Jedi, oh and a Senator called Padmé Amidala" said Aaron.

Amber frowned. "Weird isn't it? That there are other humans that didn't come from Earth in the universe. Maybe they came from some remote Forerunner colony. They helped you on that planet didn't they? What was is called? Tatooine?"

"Yes," said Ramore "It is interesting to think that there is a group of warriors that use weapons so similar to the energy sword. I wonder what training methods they use. I will have to as…" But Ramore was interrupted as a Marine thundered down the hallway shouting at the top of his lungs "Jedi vs. SPARTAN, Anakin vs. Jen, happening in the Sangheili dueling arena, RIGHT NOW!" and sped by them continuing to shout at the top of his lungs. Aaron, Amber and Ramore only looked at each other for a second before they began to sprint in the direction of the part of the ship were the Sangheili commonly sparred, reaching their destention rather quickly and wrenching the doors open.

Jen wasn't wearing her Hayabusa armor, instead she wore a workout tank top and sweatpants. Her hair was red, and like all UNSC military personal, it was short and cropped. Her muscles were very well developed and it showed, yet they did not bulge they way some would expect. Even out of her armor she was extremely agile, only falling slightly short of the speed achievable by SPARTAN II Kelly-087.

This speed was proving to be very helpful right about now, as she raised her katana to block Anakin's light saber. Swiftly jumping to the side, she swung her katana as Anakin's leg, only to have it blocked by his light saber. Swiftly jumping back, Jen took up a fighting stance, as Anakin held out his palm. Jen went flying back and hit the wall with a firm thud. She was back on her feat in two seconds however, and as she got to her feet, she charged at Anakin, swinging her Katana in one powerful stroke. Anakin brought his light saber up to meet the katana, and the two blades clashed. For several seconds the two combaters pushed against each other, Anakin using the Force to keep up with Jen's augmentations.

With lighting fast speed, Jen took her left hand off of her katana and reached into her pocket, producing a small metal rod. She pointed it at Anakin over the clashing blades, and a long green light saber blade extended, stopping centimeters short of Anakin's throat. Both Anakin and Jen ceased pushing and simply stared at each other. Anakin broke the silence "All right," he said as extinguished his light saber "You win…this time."

"Round two another day? You're on," said Jen grinning as she extinguished the light saber she held and sheathed her katana.

"Where did you get that light saber by the way?" asked Anakin.

"When I was on the CIS warship, some crazy-ass droid came at me wielding two of them. We dueled for a few minutes without either one of us really having an advantage over the other. When the other warship went up in flames, he threw it at me and them made a run for it. I grabbed it and then continued on my mission, no big deal really." Now that the adrenaline in her veins was beginning to slow down, Jen could hear what was going on around her better. When Anakin had asked her to spar, quite a few people had made bets one who would win, and there was a large amount of angry grumbling only equal to the badly suppressed glee around the ring. Out of the corner of her eye, Jen saw Ahsoka collecting a handful of coins from a disgruntled looking Kig-yar. 'Well,' thought Jen 'At least she isn't being a sore winner.'

"Was the name of this droid, by any chance, General Grievous?" asked Anakin.

"I think he mentioned that name, yeah," said Jen as she exited the ring. Anakin's jaw dropped as he watched Jen walk away.

"You held your own against General Grievous, wow, you SPARTANS are something else," said Ahsoka wide eyed.

"I get that a lot," said Jen, who had picked up a towel from a rack on the wall and was now wiping her face with it.

"If you don't mind could I ask you something?" said Ahsoka. "On Tatooine and at Pegasi Delta, you seemed kind of…stoic. You barely talked, there was no emotion in your voice, but now your much warmer and friendlier. Do you mind if I ask why?"

"That's something the other SPARTAN IVs and I got drilled into our heads," said Jen. "Whenever we enter a battle or are present at any serious event, we tend to act rather emotionless. We call it 'getting our game faces on'. It's pretty much a defense mechanism that I picked up during my training."

"What was your training like?" asked Ahsoka.

"Hell," said Jen "For the first couple of years anyway, that's the part where they weed out those who don't belong in the program. It's pretty much guaranteed that if you make it to the end of the second year you have what it takes to be a SPARTAN. After that it gets easier, and let me tell you something. At that point the other trainees in the program stopped being my comrades and started being my family. They still are my family. You know I managed to find some free time in there and I managed to pick up a hobby that I still practice every once in awhile."

"What's that? asked Ahsoka a curious look on her face.

Jen smiled "Matchmaking," she said as she pulled a photo out of her pocket and handed it to Ahsoka. Ahsoka looked at it. It was a picture of 50 helmet-less SPARTAN IVs standing and smiling as it they were taking a high school graduation photo. "Kevin and Alice," said Jen pointing at two SPARTANS with their arms around each others soldiers "First two I ever got together. This picture was taken nine years ago and they're still together, in fact I think Kevin popped the question. Since then I've created 28 couples, 17 of which are currently married, 5 engaged, and rest are going steady. But unfortunately I've yet to find two people who would go together well on this ship, and species have genetic gaps that are too big to make an interspecies relationship workout, so it has to be same species."

"Impossible for an interspecies relationship?" asked Ahsoka "That's not how it works 'Were I'm from."

Jen frowned "What do you mean?"

"Well it may not be possible in the Allied Species, but back where I'm from, the genetics between species is close enough for relationships between species to be perfectly possible."

Somewhere in the depths of Jen's mind, a light bulb went on. "You don't say," she said while her brain formulated dozens of possible equations.

"Well that was damned impressive," said Amber as she Ramore and Aaron approached the two talking woman. "I'm surprised that guy was able to last three seconds against a SPARTAN, even outside of power armor."

"I'm sorry who are you?" asked Ahsoka

"Specialist Amber Colton, Aaron's non-identical twin, I believe you've met my little brother."

"Yeah," said Ahsoka as she rubbed the back of her neck feeling unusually hot "He seems like a nice guy."

Little did Ahsoka know that Jen was watching her like a hawk, and as she did a smile grew across her face, and she muttered something that sounded like "Number 30."

"Yeah he's ok, once you get past the fact that he's only comfortable with shooting someone from a mile away," said Amber.

"Oh this coming from miss banzai charge," Aaron retorted. "Not to mentioned your addiction you blowing stuff up."

"Hey, demolitions is an art. You need to use just the right amount of explosives, you go too low it stays standing, while if you go too high you just waste explosives. At least I don't play doctor out in them middle of a battlefield."

"You're criticizing me for studding medicine? I fail to see what the downside to that is. You know sometimes I fail to see how we are related," said Aaron. Amber looked as if she was about to retort, when Ahsoka began to giggle.

Amber and Aaron both glanced at her as she looked up and said "Sorry, it's just that watching you two go at it was completely hilarious," and she began giggling again.

"Well," said Jen getting to her feet, "It's been nice talking to you all but a really need to get into my armor. We'll be arriving soon." after the council the Glorious victory had been ordered to Sangheilios to join up with the fleet that was being amassed there. "See you later," said Jen as she walked out of the room smiling to herself. "Oh yes," she muttered "I think they'll go together quite nicely."

I decided that the SPARTAN IVs actually deserved some personality, so I came up with "putting your game face on," so that they could be the invincible super soldiers, yet still be human. I gotta say I like the way it's going so far, tell me what you think. By the way, should I bring Alice and Kevin into the story?


	6. Tales of the Warriors

Chapter 6

Tale of the Warriors

Do me a favor and please don't mention the words Mass Effect. Long story short I F***ed up and had to restart my game and I had been getting near the end, so yeah I'm a little ticked. Ah well enough of my problems here you go.

"No matter how many times I come here," said Amber "I just can't get over how elegant your home is."

"You forget Amber," said Ramore "You, like Aaron are honorary members of the 'Altre family. It is your home as much as it is mine." The Glorious Victory had arrived in orbit around Sangheilios three hours ago. Despite this, only half of the fleet had yet to arrive, after all mobilization takes time. Ramore had invited the others to stay the night in the 'Altre family house. Amber, Aaron and Jen were able to withstand the higher gravity on Sangheilios due to their genetic augmentations and Ahsoka and Anakin were able to also, thanks to their connection with their force and Jedi strength. Padmé had been forced to remain onboard due to the fact that she had no way to deal with the strain of the gravity.

"This is amazing," said Ahsoka, moving slightly more slowly than usual, due to the fact that she wasn't used to Sangheilios' gravity. The 'Altre family was a fairly wealthy and well respected family, and it showed in the size and craftsman ship of their family manor. It was the size of a Human mansion, crafted from very fine and expensive materials. Marble walls and floors, shone brightly in the setting suns from the windows, and the furniture was a very handsome oak. The wood had been imported from earth as oak trees did not grow on Sangheilios. The reason that the 'Altre family had imported Oak was that they had formed quite a reputation for being extremely pro-Allied Species. This had attracted quite a bit of attention for the family, both positive and negative.

"Whoa," said Anakin as they entered another room and stopped.

"Ah yes," said Ramore "The pride of the 'Altre family, our battle poem." They were in a room in which the roof was at least fifty feet high. On one of the walls, elegant carvings had been, depicting Sangheili battling, standing over their defeated foes triumphantly, and a couple of what looked like marriages.

"It tells the story of the 'Altre family," explained Ramore. "My favorite part is the tale of my parents, for it is highly unique among Sangheili. My mother was a formidable swordswoman, and as a result flocks of suitors gathered at her feet, hoping that she would choose them to be her mate. They came, and were rejected, in swarms. My mother had tastes for skilled swordsman and often had the suitors duel each other for her hand. They fought each other very aggressively employing whatever means necessary to defeat their opponents, for that brought them one step closer to my mother. Countless battles were fought before my mother's eyes, many a suitor displaying great skill, determination, and strength, yet all of them were turned away.

"Then one day a suitor, the heir from the 'Sakgree family, came to the 'Altre house, more demanding my mother's hand than requesting it. But at the same time a nomad approached the 'Altre house. He was suffering from amnesia and could not remember what family he originated from, all he had was his armor and sword. He requested my mother's hand like so many had done so before, and so the 'Sakgree heir and the nomad engaged in a duel."

"The 'Sakgree heir employed brutal tactics, spitting in the eyes of the nomad, using firearms, even having one of his servants enter the fights, behavior that had already been practiced by countless suitors. Yet the nomad stood his ground and continued to fight despite the fact that his chances of survival were falling rapidly. Then in an act of brilliance, the nomad disarmed the 'Sakgree heir and held his sword to his throat. But he did not kill him instead he whispered 'Go now, return to your family and bring your dishonorable ways with you.' Then the nomad turned his back on the heir and made to exit the dueling ring. Enraged the heir picked up his sword and charged at the nomad, determined to run him through. Another sword blocked his, but it was not the nomad's. My mother had intervened blocking the heir's blade with her own, much to the surprise of both the heir, who was enraged further, and the nomad, who was humbled."

"My mother then explained to the heir why all of the previous suitors had failed. When fighting for her hand, many of them resorted to dishonorable tactics, driven mad by longing. The nomad had not done that, fighting fairly and honorably, while the heir did nothing but, which is why the nomad would become her mate. She let the heir go but not after giving him something to remember her by."

"What was that?" asked Anakin.

"She…cut out his right eye," said Ramore grinning "So maybe she took something for him to remember her by is a better term. My mother gave the nomad her hand not long after that.

"I take she liked his fighting style," said Ahsoka.

"Correct," said Ramore "The first warrior to impress her in a long time. Due to the fact that he didn't know what family he was from, he picked up my mother's name. Two years later, I was born."

"And they all lived happily ever after," said Jen.

"Not quite," said Aaron.

"He is correct," said Ramore "The heir of the 'Sakgree family is still alive today, and he has a long memory. He considers me a living testament to his loss, and would be much happier if I ceased to be. Non the less, as I am the son of the 'Altre family I know how to take care of myself, a handful of assassins is nothing I can't defeat."

"Assassins?" asked Ahsoka "He's trying to kill you?"

"Yes," said Ramore "It keeps my skills sharp but sometimes I find it to be quite irritating. Symbols on the assassins tell me that it his him, yet it is not enough to convict him. Ah well," Ramore sighed as he glanced out of a window. The third sun was setting, the other two having gone down some time ago. "I believe now is the time for resting," said Ramore. "Aaron, Amber, you know were the guest rooms are, as for the rest of you, the others are that way," he said pointing down the hallway before turning and walking off to his own resting place.

"Well see you guys in the morning," said Amber as she and Aaron walked off in one direction, while Anakin, Ahsoka and Jen went in another direction.

Jen glanced at Anakin and saw that he was lagging behind her and Ahsoka. 'Time to begin,' Jen thought happily as she turned to face Ahsoka. "So you and Aaron seem to get along pretty well," she said.

"Um," said Ahsoka "Yeah I guess we do, I mean we're friends after all."

"Well it's hard not to get along with him." said Jen "He's nice, he's heroic, smart too. Did you know that he studies medicine as well as sharp shooting?"

"Um I think I heard that, yeah," said Ahsoka as she rubbed the back of her neck. 'What is wrong with me?' asked Ahsoka 'Why do I always fell so worked up when I talk about…,' a thought hit her. 'No,' thought Ahsoka 'No, no, no, no, no, no, no don't be ridiculous Ahsoka.'

"And he's drop dead handsome," said Jen looking Ahsoka directly in the eye. "You can't deny that can you?"

"No," said Ahsoka a little too quickly "I mean yes-no wait that's not what I mean, he's ok looking, um not that I would care, but I noticed it when I was staring-I mean looking at him, I mean it's not like…" Ahsoka felt herself becoming very hot as she desperately, and unsuccessfully attempted to form a concrete sentence.

Jen smiled as she watched the young girl stutter hopelessly. 'Oh yes,' she thought 'This is going to work out beautifully.'

"You know," said Matthew speaking to Jen inside of her helmet "I think you enjoy the teasing parts way too much."

"Oh you're no fun," Jen muttered back.

"Sure was nice of Ramore to offer us a place to stay," said Aaron as he and Amber walked through the hallways to their guest rooms. "I'm surprised he let those Jedi stay here as well, we just met them."

"You just met them," said Aaron "Ramore and I have known them for a little longer, I suppose the fact that they are warriors who were trained since childhood earned his respect."

"Since childhood?" asked Amber looking at Aaron sharply "You mean like SPARTAN II's?"

Aaron frowned darkly. In the years since the Human-Covenant war, the SPARTAN II project had lost nearly all of the respect it once held. Once the SPARTANs had looked like war heroes and the instructors looked like the people who had trained those heroes. Now people saw the SPARTANs as walking casualties of war, and the instructors were seen as the ones who had killed them. "Not exactly," he said "From what I heard it's nowhere near as strict. And from what I've seen, they seem to have come out of it unscathed. I mean they seem like pretty nice people."

"Judging from what you know about them I imagine that you spent some talking with them," said Amber.

"Yeah," said Aaron "Ahsoka and I spent quite a bit of time talking about various things."

"Getting cozy with the sexy alien?" said Amber grinning and in a teasing tone "You would do that."

Aaron blushed as he said "You always assume every time I talk to a girl I'm trying to get into her pants."

"Well it's because you rarely talk to girls besides me so when you talk to a girl I assume you're only intrested in her body," said Amber "Would you have me take that back and accuse you of being gay?"

"The only reason I rarely talk to girls is because after mom…" Aaron stopped mid sentence, paling slightly.

"Ok," said Amber hastily "I went too far. I know it hit you harder then me and you always were shy about female attention after…it happened." There was an awkward pause as both siblings briefly remembered an event from their past. An event they had spent most of their lives trying to forget. "So," said Amber trying to break the silence "She does seem kind of nice, maybe you should ask her out."

Aaron gave a bitter laugh. "Can't she told me the other day that Jedi aren't allowed to form attachments to other people, so no boyfriends, no girlfriends, no getting married, and no family. I need to get some rest," he said as he walked away from his sister.

Amber watched him walk away, something was up. Amber had constantly been around her brother when he was growing up and she knew how he reacted to certain situation and what she had just seen was not something she was unfamiliar with. He had seemed rather bitter when he had told her that Jedi weren't allowed to have families, more so than he usually did when he was upset. "Not allowed to have families," she muttered "What a load of shit. By why is Aaron so upset about it, I mean it's not like…" her voice trailed off as an idea presented itself to her. "No way," she muttered "Aaron wouldn't fall for…would he?"

Vadmare 'Katar sat in his gravity chair on the _Glorious Victory_, a grim look on his face. He was 80 years old, and since Sangheili live an average of 200 years, he was still technically young. "Officially I am," he muttered to no one in particular, "But I feel like an elder, without the wisdom or the respect."

A hologram appeared in front of him. It was of a Sangheili wearing gray armor with runes covering every single visible portion. "Arbiter," said Vadmare "To what do a I owe the honor?"

"Vadmare 'Katar," said Thel "I saw you at the meeting, and saw that you were very determined to allow the use of energy projectors. You do realize that many of the councilors viewed this as not showing mercy to our enemies?"

"I don't show mercy to my enemies," said Vadmare "Mercy I grant to them is mercy I could and should be showing to my allies.

"I was not questioning your methods," said Thel "I was just making sure that you knew that the council does not completely agree with you."

"I acquired enough votes for my request to be pasted, if the rest disagree, I really don't care."

"Yes well," said Thel "I was looking over your service record and I must say it was quite extensive. You were nearly assassinated sue to the fact you were speaking out against the Prophet's war on humanity. When the Great Schism occurred, you were one of the first to abandon the Great Journey and join me in the fighting. You served on the Ark and were one of the Majors who accompanied me personally in attacking the shield generators." Vadmare nodded. "Fifteen years after the war, you were promoted to Shipmaster, and shortly afterwards you fought in the war against Salvation, in which you displayed great skill and effectiveness."

"My way of life," said Vadmare "Kill as many of your enemies as possible, and bring as many of your allies home alive as possible, that is why I did so well."

"Yes," said Thel "It appears that you have been on the recommendation list for Fleetmaster ever since, and you have constantly strived to reach that rank in the from of excessive training and studding. Well, the reason I contacted you was to inform you, that due to the number of Fleetmasters being less than we need to fight a war of this magnitude, you have been promoted to fleet master."

Vadmare lowered his head "I am honored Arbiter."

"I'm sure that you are," said Thel. "You will be given control of the Carrier…"

"No," said Vadmare calmly "I will command from the _Glorious Victory _it is my ship, and it shall remain my ship."

Thel frowned "This is uncommon, but not unheard of," he said "Very well, just one question Vadmare, this is the third war that you will participate in, how do you feel about that?"

Vadmare looked at Thel as he uttered one word. "Old."

You might have noticed that I am developing my characters much more thoroughly this time around, please inform me if a left any holes in this chapter open and please tell me what you think.


	7. Assualt

Chapter 7

Assault

"The Shipmaster was promoted?" Aaron asked. "How come he's still on this ship? I thought Fleetmasters commanded from Carriers."

"I dunno," Amber replied "Vadmare is an odd one. I've been on this ship for a year and I still don't understand him. Let me give you a quick heads up Aaron, he gets the job done, but he's completely brutal. You might have figured that out when he pushed for the use of energy projectors, but you haven't seen him on the battlefield yet." The two of them were sitting in one of the lower sections of the Glorious Victory, by the HEV pods.

Three days ago, the Glorious Victory had left Sangheilios, leading nine other ships, four other CCS-battlecruisers, a Carrier, three Destroyers of UNSC design which were escorting a Halcyon class cruiser. UNSC ships had been upgraded greatly since the Human-Covenant war. UNSC ships now have shielding and Archer missiles have much more powerful warheads making them much more effective against shields. MAC guns are still used, but the recharge and reload time as been decreased greatly.

The attack group, as it was called, was to patrol a religion of space that Republic called "The Outer Rim" for CIS bases, factories and anything else that might be supporting their war machine. They were currently heading to an uncharted planet where republic forces were already engaging the CIS. They had made a good deal of headway, but the battle had turned into a bloody stalemate. The Republic forces had requested aid, and Vadmare had ordered his attack group to the planet were the battle was taking place. They would be arriving in a few minutes, which is why Aaron and Amber were right outside the pods with around two dozen other ODSTs and SpecOp Sangheili. They would be the first ones on the ground. Their objective was take out AA guns so that the dropships could land safely.

"Where's Ramore?" asked Amber.

"He's going to be manning a Seraph fighter during this mission," said Jen walking over to the twins, an assault rifle on her back in addition to her other weapons, "Anakin and Ahsoka are going to be on the dropships. I wish that they were piloting their fighters, I've been wanting to see them in action. They must be good if they dragged them the entire way out here. Aw well," she said shrugging "I'm needed on the ground."

Before anyone could say anything else an alarm blared throughout the section that they were in. "That's our cue," said Amber, as she slapped an SMG that she had picked up in the armory in addition to her shotgun. The ODSTs SpecOp Sangheili and Jen filled into the pods, which automatically closed behind them. A familiar vibration ran through the ship as the ship exited slipspace. For several minutes nothing happening as the Glorious Victory positioned itself for the deployment of the pods. For some it was very uncomfortable and some ODSTs experienced minor cases of claustrophobia. Aaron couldn't help put drum the side of the pod, as the minutes ticked by, painfully slow. Then a light lit up on the far left side of the pod. Aaron took a firm grip on the controls as two more lights lit up belong the first one, and the pod was released from it's clamps along with the others.

"They drop out of the ship in high orbit?!" Ahsoka asked, using all of her self control to keep herself from shouting. She was standing in the hanger bay along with Ramore and Anakin, with Vadmare in the distance who was simply staring at the planet through the forcefeilds that kept the hanger pressurized.

"When you say it that way it sounds like they're trying to kill themselves," said Ramore. "HEV pods are very safe, only twelve people have been killed in drops during the past five years."

Ahsoka didn't look like she was very convinced when Anakin said "Oh relax Snips your boyfriend will be fine." Ahsoka felt a blush creeping up her neck and was very glad that she had her back turned to Anakin. "Oh come on Snips I was joking," Anakin said in a slightly exasperated voice when Ahsoka did not respond "I mean come on you have been spending an awful amount of time with him, are you sure that there isn't anything you want to…Padmé? What are you doing here?"

Padmé had just walked into the hanger, loading a clip into a blaster. "I'm going down with you," she answered.

"Oh no your not," said Anakin throwing his arms up "A battlefeild is no place for a senator."

"It isn't?" asked Ramore cocking his head.

"Officially no," said Ahsoka "But Padmé had been on the battlefield plenty of times and done pretty well. While you were there I might add Skyguy," she added throwing a glance a Anakin "You of all people would know that she'll be fine. Why do you ask anyway," she said turning her attention back to Ramore.

"The only reason the councilors of my people do not step onto the battlefield," said Ramore is because they are intentionally held back, due to the fact that there lost would be to great for the Allied Species to handle. Most of the councilors are fairly capable warriors who can take care of themselves, as a matter of fact that was one of the main traits that got them their positions in the first place."

"I still think that it's risky," said Anakin stubbornly.

"She is not a child," said Vadmare looking over his shoulder at the group "If she wished to partake in the battle then that is her choice," he turned back to look at the planet as he finished his sentence. The CIS had industrialized quite a bit of it, covering it with factories to produce droids and other items that were needed in the war. "Nearly the entire planet has been turned into a factory," said Vadmare.

"This must be a major source of CIS war materials," said Padmé "No wonder the Republic called for aid." Vadmare did not respond to the senator. As he looked out, he saw the ships under his command, his own included, drop their load of HEV pods down to the planet, to the area of the planet that was estimated to have the control center for all CIS instillations on the planet.

"Prepare the fighters and dropships," Vadmare said to all of the personal in the hanger. "We are deployed."

The HEV pods smashed into the ground, leaving small craters behind. The doors automatically opened, or in a handful of cases, were blown off. The troopers stepped out of the pods and saw several structures in the distance. It was dark and the planet was rocky, absent of any notacable features other than CIS structures. "Looks like AA guns," said Aaron using the zoom function on his helmet. "I see about three, lightly guarded. We must be far behind enemy lines, they probably won't be expecting an attack."

"Very well," said one of the Sangheili "My warriors will flank them with out active camouflage. Humans, when we give the signal, open fire on them, and then we will decloak and attack."

"Sounds like a plan do me," said Amber "They'll be nicely confused."

"Move up," said Jen, her voice now emotionless as the troopers moved forward. They stopped short of the AA guns, just out of sight of the sentries. One of the Sangheili made a gesture and all of the SpecOp Sangheili activated their active camouflage, and sprinted away silently. The ODSTs and Jen double checked their ammo levels and took up positions, Jen's assault rifle ready, as were Aaron's sniper rifle and Amber's SMG. For about half a minute, there was silence as the troopers lined up their shots on the droids guarding the AA guns, about three dozen in total.

A voice spoke a single sword over the Battle-Net "Fire." Weapons burst to life as a hail of superheated bullets rained down on the droids, many of which collapsed under the strain. Just as the survivors were about to return fire, the Sangheili decloaked and hit the droids from behind with a surge of plasma weapon fire. The surviving droids were down and out before they even knew what had happened.

"Fast and clean," said Amber as the troopers approached the Sangheili "Now give me some room." She reached into her back pack and produced three M171 explosive charges, twice the punch and half the size of the M168. She slapped one onto each of the AA guns, armed each as she did. The other Allied Species troopers put some distance between themselves and the guns, knowing what was about to happen. As Amber finished, she walked over to where the other's were standing, producing a detonator as she did. "And now for my favorite part," said as she pushed the detonator. All three charged exploded with tremendous force, transforming the AA guns into nothing more than twisted bits of metal.

"Jen to Vadmare," said Jen into her com unit "AA threats have been neutralized in our area over." as she gave her report, she heard similar reports from other platoons that had deployed from others ships.

"Good," Vadmare replied "We're already on our way down." Jen nodded as she took her hand away from her head, then paused. She could hear something, it was very faint and she couldn't quite pick up were it was coming from. Before she could digest this information, a bright red light saber flew through air, and sliced the head clean off of one of the ODSTs. As the lifeless body fell to the ground, the light saber arced as if it had a life of it's own, and flew back in the direction that it came from. A thin figure caught it, while activating an identical light saber in the other hand.

Almost in perfect synchronization, the Allied Species troopers, raised their weapons and fired them at the figure with the light sabers. The light sabers spun so fast it was almost like they were a blur. Bullets melted on contact, and plasma bolts weren't sent spinning off in random directions. The assault continued until the ODSTs dropped to their knees to reload their weapons, and the Sangheili ejected their drained carbine power cells.

With agility to rival a SPARTANs, the figure dashed forward, swinging both light sabers, and taking the lives of two more ODSTs, the light sabers cutting through their shields like butter. Dashing to the left, the figure blocked a swipe from a Sangheili who had dropped his carbine and drawn his energy sword, then cut him in half. Spinning on it's heels, their figure extended both hands, and lighting shot out of them. The lightening engulfed three SpecOp Sangheili and two ODSTs who had their shields drained in seconds before they fell to the ground, writhing in agony, and then never moved again. Letting out a laugh, the figure, spun to swing it's light saber again, only to have to blocked. Jen had abandoned her assault rifle and had drawn her katana.

As the light saber and the katana clashed, Jen got a good look at the face of the attacker. It was some sort of alien, pale white skin, bald, pale blue eyes, female by the look. As they continued to clash, Jen shouted at the troopers "She'll massacre you, get out of here, and take care of her." The troopers glanced at Jen then, with some hesitation, broke into a run and quickly ran out of sight,

"Fool," Jen's opponent hissed "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"A bitch?" said Jen only a very small amount of humor in her voice present.

"I am Asajj Ventress, dark Jedi and you just made the biggest mistake of your life, you can't possibly hope to defeat me on your own. This planet will be your grave because of that mistake."

"SPARTANS don't die," Jen said, as she broke the clash and brought her katana up, aiming for Ventress' face. Ventress jumped back to avoid the blade, but not before the very tip of it sliced her right cheek.

Ventress jumped back, running her fingers along her cut and examining the blood they had collected. In reality it was about as deep as a paper cut, but Ventress clenched her light sabers tightly in anger. "You will pay for that," she said in a low dangerous voice, as she charged at Jen swinging her light sabers wildly. Jen gracefully blocked the swipes with her katana, despite the fact Ventress was press on her relentlessly.

The troopers ran as fast as their feet would carry them, their armor glinting in the dim light. "What the hell was that thing?" Aaron asked, panic faint in his voice.

"No idea," Amber replied "Crazy bitch cut a Sangheili in half like it was nothing though. I hope Jen will be alright."

"She's a SPARTAN," Aaron replied "She'll be fine, we just need to…dropships!" He shouted stopping and pointing up. The other troopers ceasing and running and looked to where Aaron was pointing. Indeed six bright green phantoms were descending, and landed a few yards away from them. The doors opened and the troopers disembarked. Vadmare stepped out, along with Anakin, Ahsoka and Padmé looked at the ODSTs and SpecOp Sangheili and said "What has happened? You are at half strength."

"We were ambushed," said Aaron "Some crazy-ass woman dual wielding light sabers cut us up pretty good, Jen told us to make a run for it while she fought her, and well, you don't disagree with a SPARTAN."

"Did the woman have white skin and no hair?" asked Ahsoka.

"How'd you know that?" asked Amber.

"Ventress," Anakin mumbled. "Which way is she?"

Ventress and Jen continued to trade blows, with no signs of either one letting up. Ventress swung both of her light sabers at Jen's torso, only for her to block them, and make another swipe and Ventress face. A horizontal cut was made across Ventress' left cheek this time, once again nothing serious but it infuriated the Dark Jedi to no end. With a roar of rage, Ventress extended both of her arms, as lightening shot out of her fingers. Almost on instinct, Jen grabbed the light saber that once belonged to Grievous and ignited it. She blocked the lightening with it, using every last bit of strength to keep the light saber in place.

Then, with an Olympian effort, she charged at Ventress, light saber still blocking the lightening, and thrust her katana forward. Ventress saw the attack and attempted to throw herself out of the way. She was not quick enough, and the katana tore through her side. Letting out a gasp of pain, Ventress extended one hand, and Jen flew back several yards and landed on her back. When she had gotten to her feet, Ventress was gone.

"These people sure are talented when it comes to running away," Jen muttered as she glanced around for Ventress with no luck.

"He who runs away, lives to fight another day," said Matthew.

"And run away again apparently," said Jen. She turned around as she heard the familiar sound of Phantoms descending. "Fleetmaster," she said nodded her head "You just missed the party, my opponent as already fled."

"Ventress ran away," said Anakin from behind Vadmare "Typical."

"This battle has only just begun," said Vadmare "Skywalker, I want you to contact the Republic forced to coordinate an attack on the command center. I will contact the attack group and order them to glass everything else."

"Umm, glass?" said Anakin.

"You'll see soon enough Skyguy," said Ahsoka sadly.

The first major battle with the CIS has begun. FYI Ventress will live and return to fight another day. Aw well, review and tell me what you think.


	8. Just Business

Chapter 8

Just Business

I've been playing the Halo Reach beta, and I've got to say it's pretty kick ass. Well here you go.

"She was a what now?" Aaron asked over the hum of the Phantom. The Phantoms had picked up what was left of the insertion team, and were now flying in formation to meet up with the local Republic forces.

"A Dark Jedi," answered Ahsoka "A Jedi that has given in to the dark side of the force."

"Dark side?" asked Amber

"An aspect of the Force," said Ahsoka "You call upon it by giving in to your emotions during extreme circumstances. The Dark side eats away at you, even if you used it with good intentions it will corrupt you, and you'll eventually give into it. Dark Jedi become consumed by the Dark side and are filled with anger and hatred."

"Is that why the Jedi are forbidden from forming romantic relationships?" asked Amber.

Ahsoka nodded a little sadly. "It is viewed as too risky, being attached to someone could cause a Jedi to be tempted by the Dark Side, willing to use it to see them again, to save them, the rage you feel at their death."

In the corner, Jen was silent. A lot was going through her mind right now. "So," came Matthew's voice through her helmet "There's a risk involved, are you still going to try to get them together even when she might give in to this Dark side?"

"I don't know," Jen muttered back "Maybe I shouldn't, I mean…"

"WHAT?!" roared Matthew "You actually buy this? It's ridiculous, these guys are supposed to be warriors of a millennia old organization, and they keep their heads level in the middle of a battlefield? That's a basic quality that any soldier requires. If you ask me they're just being paranoid that the slightest bit of contact might cause them to slip up. You know what this rmeinds me of? SPARTAN Iis, they're making these people do nothing but walk and fight, if anything this should only inspire you to try twice as hard. You heard the tone in Ahsoka's voice, this depresses her, I bet that she would like nothing better than to be held."

Jen's smile was concealed by her helmet "Thanks Mat," she whispered "I needed that pep-talk."

Aaron was completely silent. 'So that's why huh?' he thought 'Aw well, maybe it's for the best, it's not like I had a shot with her anyway.' He wouldn't lie to himself, he had been looking at Ahsoka more often lately. Maybe Amber suggesting that they go out had put the idea in his head but he had actually looked at her in a different life, the way you look on a crush. He had known that Jedi were forbidden to have relationships but now that he knew why his hopes felt like they had been completely crushed.

"Aaron?" asked Amber looking at Aaron, worry evident in her de-polarized helmet "You ok?"

Aaron's face was still hidden, but it was obvious that he had been lost in his thoughts when he jumped a little saying "Wha- yeah I'm fine."

Amber blinked as she looked away. 'He likes her,' she thought 'he really likes her, and he wants to be with her. It's not fair,' she thought angrily 'Aaron's never had a girlfriend because he could never get the guts up to ask anyone out after…' Amber shuddered as the events of that horrible day flashed through her head. 'And now he finds the one girl he might ask out and she's forbidden to form relationships. God do you have some sort of issue with my brother?"

While Amber was staring at Aaron, Padmé was starring at Ahsoka who was staring sadly at the ground. 'She's just like Anakin,' she thought. 'She loves somebody, but the Jedi code forbids it. Maybe I should tell her about me and Anakin, maybe I could help her out.'

"We'll be landing soon," said Vadmare in his cold voice. "Prepare yourselves." He then raised his hand to his helmet and spoke into his com unit.

Ramore jerked the controls in his hands hard to the right as he dodged fire from a vulture droid that was tailing him. He then pulled down on the controls, forcing his fighter to perform a loop which positioned his fighter behind the droid. He squeezed down on the triggers as plasma engulfed the droid in front of him, as it descended to the planet's surface in a ball of fire. He had been cleaning up Vulture droids in low orbit for the past half an hour. Nothing special but they kept him on his toes. "To all air units," crackled Vadmare's voice over the Battle-Net. "I am leading forces to assist in taking the main enemy control center. All available air support will join the assault."

"Bly get down!" shouted Aayla Secura as she pulled the clone behind a rocky outcrop. A blaster bolt fired from a sniper barley missed his head as he was pulled into cover.

"Another sniper?" Bly groaned in a highly annoyed voice "I thought we were in the clear when we took out the last one. Why are the CIS using mercenaries instead of droids anyway? That's not like them." It was true, around and in the main command center, Aayla and her forces had faced mercenaries instead of droids. They had proved to be much more capable the droids were, not that was saying much. Still they were putting up a very good fight, and although they were slowly gaining ground, and were now directly outside of the control center. Still a lot of good men had paid dearly for it. Aayla reflected on this sadly, she did not view the clones as expendable as so many others did.

"Um, M'am?" said Bly pointing somewhere behind her "I think we've got company." Aayla looked where Bly was pointing and saw six ships descending towards their position.

"Those don't look like CIS ships," said Aayla "Stay alert." She held her ignited light saber in front of her, while the dozen or so clones around her pointed their blasters at the descending ships. As they landed, the passengers disembarked. Aayla only recognized the species of a handful as Human. The others were gigantic mammals, bird like creatures, gigantic beings encased in blue armor, a figure covered head to toe in white armor and… "Ahsoka? Anakin?"

"Nice to see you master," said Ahsoka waving as she disembarked from the Phantom. "You may not have heard but there's a new faction in the war called the Allied Species. They're from a different galaxy and only entered the war recently."

"What caused them to enter the war," asked Aayla, feeling a little overwhelmed. A faction from another galaxy, was this even possible?

"The CIS are dishonorable cowards," said Vadmare disembarking from the drop ship. "They attacked us first, we are simply going to destroy them before they can do so again to civilian targets."

"And you are?" asked Aayla.

"Vadmare 'Katar, Fleetmaster," replied Vadmare.

"Aayla Secure, Jedi Master," said Aayla.

"What's the situation?" asked Vadmare, his voice maintaining it's cold even level.

"We're right on top of the control center, but a sniper is pinning us down," said Aayla. "It's weird, the CIS are using mercenaries instead of their regular droids. The sniper is shooting at us from the roof, but none of my men are snipers and we can't…" Aayla was cut off as Aaron popped out of cover, lined up a shot with his rifle and fired.

"Sniper's dead," he said as he looked up from his rifle and switched to his SMG.

"Not bad," muttered Bly.

"If there are no further issues, move up," said Vadmare, as the clones and Allied Species troopers did so.

"By the Forerunners, how many Vulture droids are stationed on this planet?" Ramore hissed to himself as he sent another droid done in flames. "Twenty-six kills and counting," he muttered to himself as he slammed down on the acceleration, speeding towards the location that had been uploaded to his fighter.

"Quite a step up from the walking scrap heaps," said Amber as she blew a mercenary's chest open with her shotgun. The Republic and Allied Species forces had made their way into the control center and were making their way upwards. The mercenaries were comprised of Mandalorians, Twi'leks, and Iridonians, mostly male and all of them were putting up one hell of a fight. They had taken up defensive positions, dug in, and were dealing out hell do make sure that their held their position. Unfortunately for them, they had not been expecting the technological advancements of the Allied Species. Every last trooper, even Unggoy, were outfitted with personal shielding, except Magegleko, who didn't need it. Not all of them were as well trained as the clones were, but they were advancing rapidly, smashing through the enemy defenses.

"Quite something these Allied Species," Aayla said as she deflected a bolt back at the Mandalorian who had sent it at her. "Personal shielding, fascinating."

"I've got to say they are impressive," said Padmé as she shot a mercenary in the chest. "The Humans also have genetic augmentations from what I've heard."

"Oh mine are nothing." said Aaron as he fired a burst from his SMG. "If you want to really see the taxpayer's dollars at work, look at Jen. Her augmentations are equivalent to that of a SPARTAN II." Jen certainly was something to behold, slashing at the mercenaries, with her katana, while holding her SMG in the other hand firing away. Vadmare 'Katar, however, was actually managing t keep up with her. He had not gotten his position of Fleetmaster, easily and had much experience to work his way up. He was dual-wielding plasma rifles, firing them with incredible speed and accuracy, killing countless mercenaries.

As they moved further in, their forces branched off through the control center in order to take over it completely. Eventually, Vadmare and Aayla separated from the others, heading upwards. Eventually they came to the roof, and found three mercenaries firing their weapons desperately at the troopers that were pouring in. With inhuman agility, Aayla slipped forward, and stabbed one of them through, while Vadmare fried one of the others with his rifles. The survivor, a male Twi'lek, wheeled around and tried to fire his blaster, only to have Vadmare shoot it out of his hands.

Attaching is right rifle to the magnetic clamp on his thigh, Vadmare walked forward, and grabbed the Twi'lek by the throat. "I don't know if you know this, but information is a priceless asset in war," said Vadmare in a ruthless voice as he walked forward, dangling the mercenary over the edge of the roof, at least five stories high. "So you are going to tell me everything you know."

"I don't know anything," the Twi'lek choked out "All I know is some guy found me and my boys and offered us 50,000 credits if we held this position. He told us it was an easy job so we weren't getting paid until the job was done. Bastard probably knew that we were going to die, so he got some free labor considering we killed quite a few clones, even a couple of your guys."

Vadmare snarled. "There is no further point in interrogating him," said Aayla, a stern tone in her voice "You should not even be interrogating him ins such a manner, it is the way of the Dark side."

Vadmare ignored her. "That's all you know?" asked Vadmare "You and your men were hired for an absurdly large sum, without realizing that this was a suicide job." The Twi'lek nodded furiously. Vadmare said nothing for a few moments, then he said "I believe you." The Twi'lek relaxed as Vadmare released his grip on him. Without pulling him back from over the edge. The mercenary fell five stories to his death.

"What did you do that for?" asked Aayla, anger faintly apparent in her voice.

"He was the enemy," said Vadmare. "He may have been hired to fight, but he still stands against us. There is no room for mercy on the battlefield. Show it for your enemies and your own men pay the price for it."

"That isn't true," said Aayla "If you don't show mercy, you become a murderer, no better than the people you are fighting. Justify it anyway you want but it doesn't change that you just killed in cold blood."

"You have not fought as long I have," said Vadmare his icy voice not faltering. "I have seen and done things that would make you fall to your knees and weep. They did make me fall to my knees and weep. You have no idea what you are talking about."

"I've seen my fair share of war too," replied Aayla hotly "Don't like you're the only one whose ever faced hardships in war."

"This conversation has no purpose," said Vadmare "Even if you do prove me wrong, it will not bring the man I killed back to life, nor will I change my methods. I will do what I must to ensure the safety of my men. I have no regrets about what I do."

"I care about my men too," said Aayla "But I find a way to save them without becoming to better than the CIS."

"While we bicker, the battle continues," said Vadmare, not responding at all to Aayla's words. "While I do believe that you have the best of intentions at heart, it will not change the way I carry out my commands. We must focus on defeating our enemy."

Aayla looked like she disapproved, but she saw the truth in his words so she dropped the argument, at least for now. A Seraph fighter flew overhead, firing on a Vulture droid that went up in flames. "Clearing the skies Fleetmaster," crackled Ramore's voice over the Battle-Net.

"This area is clear 'Altre," said Vadmare speaking into his com unit "Proceed westward, enemy air forces are still present there." Ramore muttered quick word of cooperation. "Ah I see that they are about to begin," said Vadmare. The Allied Species warships were descended into low orbit, so they were clearly visible from the ground.

"What is about to be…" began Aayla, but she was cut of as a blinding beam of energy was fired from one of the ships. It caused a massive explosion when it hit the ground, and when it cleared, the ground was covered with some sort of crystal that looked like glass, everything that had once been there vaporized. The other ships were repeating this process, bombarding the planet, destroying everything and reducing the planet to glass.

The Allied Species begin the glassing of the first CIS planet and Aayla does not approve of Vadmare 'Katar's methods. You probably don't but if you knew what happened to him (And you will find out at one point) you wouldn't blame him. Please review.


	9. Scars

Chapter 9

Scars

"90% of the planet's surface has been glassed," said a Sangheili Helmsman, who was examining a hologram on the bridge of the Glorious Victory. "All structures on the remaining 10% have been destroyed and all opposition eradicated. Our casualties are remarkably light, and the CIS forces were completely eradicated." The Helmsman paused as he glanced at Vadmare 'Katar who was sitting in his gravity chair. His armor was the same bright gold that all Fleetmasters wore, except for one key difference. His shoulder plates were black, quite unusual. A Sangheili that wasn't a SpecOp usually only wore black shoulder plates in times of mourning, but Vadmare 'Katar wore them all the time. The Helmsman privately wondered why he did this, but never asked, it wasn't his business. "Phantoms have retrieved the HEV pods which has been reloaded and are ready to deploy on a moments notice. All infantry, vehicles and aircraft have returned. The rest of the attack group reports the same, we can depart whenever we chose to."

"Very well," said Vadmare 'Katar speaking in the same cold voice he always had "Make the jump to slipspace." Vadmare's attack group, along with all the other Allied Species ships deployed to fight, had been ordered to systemically search for, and destroy anything assisting the CIS in anyway shape or form. This was largely possible due to the fact that in the days since the Human-Covenant war slipspace engines had been greatly upgraded.

During said war, UNSC ships had simply tore a gapping hole into slipspace resulting in only being able to travel an average of two light-years per day. Covenant ships had made a precise incision allowing them to travel hundreds of light-years per day. Now the incision made was even more precise, allowing tens of thousands of light-years to be traveled in one day, which is why ships on the edge of the Milky Way galaxy took only a few days to cross the gap in-between galaxies and how they could search the Outer Rim so easily. Still they were nowhere Forerunner level, who's incisions were so precise that were was only a couple of inches in-between the hull and the hole to slipspace. It was estimated that these engines could be used to travel from one end of a galaxy to another in a matter of hours, maybe even faster, but as the only known one had been destroyed in the Battle of the Ark, there was no way to know for sure.

"Yes sir," said the Helmsman, as be began to make them jump. Vadmare sighed as he relaxed into his chair. The Jedi Aayla Secura had insisted on accompanying them, leaving control of her forces to Commander Bly. No doubt it was an attempt to keep Vadmare from repeating what he had done in the previous battle, both killing the mercenary and glassing the planet. While he had easily been able to get her to drop the topic of glassing, due to the fact that the bombardments had only destroyed droids and equipment, she still highly disapproved of his actions with the mercenary.

"I never show mercy," Vadmare muttered to himself, as he glanced at one of his shoulder plates. "And for a good reason."

Ahsoka raised her light saber to block Jen's oncoming katana and swung her light saber as a counter attack, but Jen leapt to the side, avoiding it completely. The fact that she wasn't wearing her armor did not stop her from keeping up with her opponent, Ahsoka had learned, thankfully, not the hard way. They had been going for the last half an hour with neither of them gaining an edge, and neither showing signs of fatigue. Just like when Jen had fought Anakin, it had attracted quite a crowd, and bets were again being placed.

"I can't help but wonder," said Aaron as he watched the fight "How come Ahsoka managed to last three times as long as you did," he said, looking at Anakin with the faintest bit of a smirk on his face.

"Oh come on," said Anakin "you're exaggerating."

"He his not," said Ramore "You lasted for ten minutes against Jen, she has lasted over thirty," the Sangheili equivalent of a grin slid over Ramore's face "Perhaps she should be the teacher and you the student."

"Snips is good but she's not that good," said Anakin "She's bound to get knocked out any minute now."

"So little faith in your own student," said Aaron "What do you say to a little wager. 500 Credits says that not only does Ahsoka last, she beats Jen."

"I'll put 500 Republic Credits up, not exactly the same value as yours but close enough," said Anakin "And I do believe in Snips, she just has a lot more training to do before she's ready to become a full fledged knight. Besides I could use a little more money."

Back in the ring Ahsoka and Jen had clashed blades and were furiously pushing at each other. 'Like Master like Student,' Jen thought as she reached for the light saber she had taken from Grievous. It wasn't there. Jen barely had time to register this, when she heard a light saber ignite, and looked up to see Ahsoka holding a second light saber a few inched away from Jen's throat. Jen smiled "Clever," she said "Very clever, you saw were I kept it when I was fighting Anakin didn't you."

Ahsoka nodded, allowing herself a small smile "To be honest I was getting tired, that was a move of desperation, I wasn't even sure if it would work." She deactivated both light sabers and handed Jen's back to her.

"Well it did," said Jen as she sheathed her Katana. "Desperate moves tend to work more often then people tend to give them credit for."

"Thank you," said Aaron as he took a credit chip from a visibly annoyed Anakin. He turned and walked away with a mumbled excuse.

"Hey guys," said Ahsoka as she walked forward "Where'd you get that chip?" she asked.

"Won a little bet with Anakin," said Aaron "I bet that you would win, he bet that you wouldn't."

Ahsoka gave a small giggle "Well I bet one him losing too so it's only fair, but why did you bet on me winning."

"I..I trusted you I guess," said Aaron, slightly more slowly than he normally would as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I thought you could actually beat Jen, the way you kept up with her, it was amazing."

"Oh," said Ahsoka, feeling rather hot "Thanks I guess."

Ramore's eyes darted back and forth between Aaron and Ahsoka, both of whom were showing signs of extreme discomfort. 'Hm,' he thought 'I wonder if Amber knows that they react to each other this way.'

Aayla Secura sat in the cafeteria section of the Glorious Victory. Due to the fact that no meals were currently taking place, it was mostly empty. Aayla sat alone with a glass of water, reading off of a holopad. She heard a clatter a looked up to see Amber dropping a tray on the table across from her. "Mind if I sit here?" she asked. Aayla shook her head as Amber sat down. "So what are you reading?" Amber asked as she took a hunk of bread from her tray and took a bite.

"Service records of Vadmare 'Katar." said Aayla "I'm trying to find out why he acts the way he does."

"You don't approve of his tactics," said Amber plainly.

"No I don't," said Aayla, as she read from the holopad. "This can't be right, I must have the wrong record. It says in the early days when he was just a Major Domo he was highly optimistic and idealistic, showing valor and bravery on the battlefield. Does that really sound like a person that would kill in cold blood?"

"No," said Amber "But if I recall, Vadmare was a Major Domo during the Battle of the Ark, that was half a century ago. A lot can happen in that time."

"True," said Aayla as she scrolled down the holopad. "In 2567 he was promoted to Shipmaster and given command of the _Swift Killer_ and when the War with Salvation broke out..." Aayla paused. "Something's wrong," she said.

"What do you mean?" asked Amber.

"It ends there, like someone deleted it," she said. "It said that he was promoted to Shipmaster and then apparently stops. I think it might have been tampered with."

"Well if it was there's only one way your going to find out why Vadmare acts the way he does," said Amber.

"And what would be?" asked Aayla.

"Ask him," said Amber.

Vadmare 'Katar walked through the Glorious victory heading to his quarters. They would not arrive at the next system they were to search for three hours and he intended to use them to rest. As he made his way there, he happened to pass the cafeteria, just as Aayla was exiting. "Oh good," she said "I've been wanting to talk to you."

"If it's about what I did, then I have nothing to say," said Vadmare as he started to walk again.

"No not that," said Aayla "I wanted to talk about something else."

Vadmare stopped, paused for a second, then turned around to face Aayla. "Very well," he said "What is it?"

"I was looking over your service record," she said "When I found that it ended rather abruptly, like someone had deleted it. It said that before something called the War on Salvation broke out, you were completely different. Your were optimistic and idealistic, nothing like what you are now. If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

Vadmare let out something that was somewhere between a sigh and a snarl. "I was like you once," he said "Full of ideas and morals, I fought against the Jiralhanae under the command of the Prophet of Truth, but I believed that things such as torture and the killing of prisoners of war were wrong. Everything seemed to be going right, we defeated Truth and his followers, we won the Great Schism. Yet, when the Covenant faith was proven false, I was shaken, I believed that the Great Journey was a lie but I still believed in the Forerunners, just like all of the Separatists." Aayla had no idea what he meant about Great Schism, Great Journey or Forerunners, but still she listened intently.

"When I was promoted to Shipmaster, I felt that my life had reached it's highpoint. Then Salvation came and we rode to war once again. That's when it all went wrong."

"What happened?" asked Aayla.

"I had been sent to a planet where a damaged Jiralhanae Extremist frigate had landed for repairs. When we arrived, scans of the frigate showed that its weapon systems were disabled, therefore it could not hope to engage us. One of my Helmsmen suggested that was gas the area where they had landed, kill all of them at once. I said no, I said that it would be inhumane. Further scans showed that there was a Jiralhanae village an hour's walk away from the frigate. The Extremist might attack it, so I took six other Sangheili and headed planet side to make sure that they were alright. When we got down there, we discovered that while the Extremists had yet to attack, the village had no warriors to defend itself with, they had all been called away to fight elsewhere, only woman, children and elderly. Then the frigate took off."

"Took, off," asked Aayla confused "I thought you said it's weapons were disabled."

"They were," said Vadmare "They had no intention of using them. They accelerated to maximum velocity and hit my ship head on. We hadn't been expecting an attack, our shields weren't up. Everyone on both ships was killed, I was forced to watch from a distance as my ship was destroyed and it's crew perish." Aayla's eyes widened as Vadmare continued. "But the Extremist ship had only had a skeleton crew when it had taken off, 700 Extremists had been left on the planet, and they were heading straight for the village."

"We couldn't move the villagers, too many sick and elderly, we had to hold the village. The seven of us took up defensive positions and defended the village against the Extremists. We fought valiantly, but we were outnumbered 100 to 1, they picked of my men one by one, until there were only two of us. The Minor that was still alive fought fiercely, he was determined to protect the village. But when he leaned out of cover to fire, a Extremist Lance fired on him. His shields took all of the shots except a spiker round that pierced his throat. He choked to death on his own blood in my arms. I felt an uncontrollable rage burning through me. The Extremists had killed every one last of my men and I wanted revenge. There were 500 Extremists still alive but I was going to kill as many as I could. I can't remember what happened next very clearly, but the next thing I remember I was standing in the middle of a field filled of corpses, and I was covered in blood, Jiralhanae blood. I had killed every last Extremist, some with my sword, some with my plasma rifles, some with my bare hands."

Aayla was speechless. A lone person fighting off over 500 enemies? Even to a Jedi that was impressive. "After that day I never showed mercy to my foe again. I could've gassed the Extremists and none of my crew would've died. I didn't, showed mercy to my enemy and thousands of good Sangheili paid for it with their lives. Every memory is sharp, my ship exploding, the Extremists advancing, the Minor dying in my arms, al but what I did to the Extremists. My rage was so great it drove those memories from my mind."

Aayla found her voice. "I've met people who've experienced similar losses, but no one every reacted to it quite the way you did. I mean that was decades ago, something must have really scarred you that day."

"You are right." said Vadmare. "The Minor that dies in my arms…he was my son."

There's chapter 9 and Vadmare's back story. I bet that you do the same thing he did if you went through what he did. Well please review.


	10. Assassination

Chapter 10

Assassination

Please reread the last chapter, when I posted small bit at the end got cut off, but it is there now, please enjoy

"We're going where now?" asked Aaron.

"Ryloth the Twi'lek home world." Said Ahsoka. "The CIS have gained a foothold on it…again," she said groaning the last word. "You think after we broke our backs to take it back the first time they would've put up a defensive fleet to protect it," she sighed "But our forces are spread thin. Kit Fisto lead a force onto the planet, but CIS reinforcements arrived and destroyed his fleet. Now he's stranded on the planet with his clone forces, and last we heard he's getting hammered pretty hard." The two of them were sitting in the HEV pod section of the ship, they were going to be arriving at Ryloth at any minute.

"How much of the planet do they control?" asked Aaron.

"Not very much," said Ahsoka "Only a small amount, they haven't been able to spread very far." She paused as an alarm blared throughout the section of the ship that they were in.

"That's my cue," said Aaron. "By the way take this," he said as he handed Ahsoka what looked like an earpiece. "I picked up this morning, it connects to the Battle-Net so you can contact anyone else connected to it at anytime."

Ahsoka smiled as she took the communicator. "Thanks," she said as she placed it in her ear.

Aaron got up and headed towards the pods, Amber, Ramore and Jen mimicking his moves on the opposite side of the room. "See you in a couple of hours," he said as he entered the pod and it automatically sealed itself.

Vadmare Katar's attack group exited slipspace around Ryloth. Ten CIS warships were blockading the planet, along with one command ship. On the bridge of the Glorious victory, Vadmare 'Katar sized up his opposition. "Ten to eleven," he muttered to himself. "Not a fair fight…for them. All ships fire at will!" he commanded. The MAC guns on the four UNSC ships fired, tearing through the CIS ships like they weren't there, one actually tearing through a second one, effectively destroying all of them. The CSS-battlecruisers let lose a barrage of plasma torpedoes and pulse lasers, destroying three ships and damaging the remaining warships and the command ship. The surviving ships made to run, but the UNSC ships let lose a barrage of Archer missiles, eliminating the already damaged ships. "They never stood a chance," Vadmare grunted to himself. "These fools know not what giant they have awakened. Deploy ground forces!" he shouted.

Aaron felt a familiar jolt as the HEV pods were released from their clamps. The pods fell through the atmosphere. All of a sudden, shudders passed through the pods that did not normally occur when pods were falling. "What's going on!?" Aaron shouted.

"The CIS are firing some sort of AA weapon at us," Jen replied through the screen in the pod. "Don't worry, were moving so fast the chance of them hitting is one in a…" Jen's transmission was cut off, as Aarons pod was flung violently to the side. A shot from one of the AA guns had glanced it, causing it to be flung off widely. Aaron held on for dear life as his pod spun wildly heading way off course. Then with a sickening crash, it slammed into the ground, causing Aaron to slam into the side as it the pod ground to a stop.

"Ow," muttered Aaron as he pulled himself to his feet. He hit the button that opened the door, but a red light lit up, showing that something was wrong and that the doors couldn't open. Sighing, Aaron hit the triggers for the explosive bolts and covered his ears. The doors was blown off it's hinges and flew several feet before it hit the ground with a thud. Grabbing his sniper rifle and SMG, Aaron climbed out of the pod.

"Aaron, AARON!" shouted Amber over the Battle-Net. "Are you there?"

"I'm here Amber," said Aaron as he took a look at where he had landed. He seemed to have crashed on top of a cliff. "My pod went off course," he said as he walked to the edge of the cliff in order to get a look of where he was. "I can't see any friendly forces from where I am I…whoa," he said as he dropped to a prone position.

"What?" asked Amber.

"I think I stumbled across something," he muttered. There was a huge structure within view of his position. He detached his rifle from his back and looked down the scope. "Looks like a CIS base," he said into his com unit. "Pretty high security, hundreds, maybe thousands of droids," he said as he swept the base with his rifle. "Oh look," he said, "What was that name of that white skinned bitch? Ventress? She's here."

"What?" said Ahsoka entering the Battle-Net frequency. "Ventress is there?"

"Yeah," said Aaron. "She's talking to some sort of alien I don't recognize. It's wearing some sort of suit, looks like it has some sort of life support."

"Sounds like Wat Tambor," said Ahsoka. "He's on the CIS council."

Aaron's eyes widened. "Amber, contact the Fleetmaster," he said. "Tell him I've discovered the position of one of the CIS's main leaders…and I have a clear shot."

Vadmare 'Katar gritted his mandibles as the Phantom he was in landed. As he jumped out, he saw a small number of clones, accompanied by the forces that had dropped from orbit, making a counter offensive against the droids. He had requested that Anakin, Ahsoka, and Padmé had remain on the ship in case they needed to be deployed elsewhere. Aayla Secura had insisted, however, that she accompany him to the planet. She landed next to him, light saber ignited, and ready for combat.

At the head of the clone counter-attack, Kit Fisto was fighting furiously against the droids, making slow but steady progress. His job was made considerably easier, when a Jiralhanae Chieftain, wielding a Gravity Hammer and with his shields temporarily overcharges so that he was practically invincible, jumped in the middle of the droids and started swinging his hammer widely, sending droids flying. Vadmare fired several bursts from his plasma rifles, but the battle was already over, the droids were retreating. Several squads of Marines went after them, rifles firing, but it was of little concern.

"Fleetmaster!" shouted Amber as she ran towards Vadmare. "My brother just contacted me, his pod went off course but he found a CIS base. He's got a clear shot at one of the CIS's top leaders, someone called Wat Tambor."

"Tambor?" said Aayla "He was the one who lead the invasion of Ryloth two years ago."

"And now he has returned to finish the job," Vadmare snarled. "It is true that he used civilians as human shields?" Aayla nodded. "I thought he was captured…he escaped didn't he?"

"That's right," said Aayla, who noticed a certain look in Vadmare's eyes. "I know what your thinking, there has got to be a better way. He deserves to live just like every other living thing.

"That may be true," said Vadmare. "The choice is an easy one to make." he raised his hand to his earpiece. "Colton, take the shot."

"I will not retreat," said Wat Tambor defiantly, "We have not lost yet."

Ventress let out a snarl. "The order came directly from Dooku himself," she said, anger heavy in her voice "The last time you disobeyed his orders, you were captured by the Republic. With these Allied Species joining the war on the Republic's side, we won't be able to save your sorry hide a second time."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," said Tambor "I will remain her and direct my forces from the front, until it becomes evident that I must…" Tambor was silenced as a shot broke through the sky. A bullet tore through Tambor's skull and make and exit wound, killing him instantly. Almost instantly, Ventress ignited her light sabers and blocked another bullet, this one aimed at her. Eight more shots broke out, aiming at Ventress, but she managed to block or avoid every last one.

"You have got to be kidding me," said Aaron as he ejected the clip from his sniper rifle and replaced it with a fresh one. "Fleetmaster," said Aaron speaking into his com unit "Wat Tambor is dead, but I couldn't kill Ventress, apparently she can block bullets even if you fire them from a mile away."

"Very well," said Vadmare's reply "Get out of there Colton, if half of what have heard about Ventress if true then you are in great danger there."

"You don't need to tell me twice," said Aaron as he holstered his sniper rifle onto the magnetic clamp on his back and stood up. He was about to turn away, when he saw what he thought was a red speck moving towards his position, rather quickly. He realized almost instantly what that speck was. "Oh shit," he said as he grabbed his SMG and ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction, thought he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that it wasn't fast enough.

"Aaron killed Wat Tambor?" asked Anakin. "It took up days to catch him last time, Master Windu nearly got blown to pieces while he was capturing him."

"Well that's the difference," said Ahsoka "We captured him, Aaron just blew a hole in his head, from a couple miles away too." They both laughed. "I wonder what he's doing…" Ahsoka paused as she put her hand to the communicator that Aaron had given to her.

"I repeat Ventress is right on my ass!" came Aaron's panicked voice from over the Battle-Net. "I can probably outrun her for five minutes tops! Any support or extraction would be greatly appreciated!"

Vadmare's voice thundered over the Battle-Net next. "Colton Phantoms can not reach your position in time. Is there anyway anyone can get to Colton's position in the next five minutes?" Ahsoka was already moving, heading towards the fighter bay.

"Snips, where are you doing?" asked Anakin. Ahsoka did not answer, as she rounded the corned, and left Anakin's line of view.

"Oh what the fuck was I thinking?" Aaron cursed himself as he ran across the rocky surface a Ryloth, not daring to look behind, for fear of what he might see. Without warning, what felt like a sledge hammer slammed into Aaron's back, causing him to stumble and fall face first into the ground. He rolled over onto his knees and saw Ventress closing on him with fighting speed. Aaron fired his SMG, aiming at Ventress, but the Dark Jedi simply deflected his bullets only slowing down a little. A cold clicking emitted from the gun, indicating that the clip was empty. Aaron had enough to whisper "Fuck," before he began to writhe in unbelievable agony. Lighting was emanating from Ventress' fingertips electrocuting Aaron, having torn through his shields in seconds.

After about thirty seconds, Ventress stopped, leaving Aaron laying on the ground, smoking and panting heavily. "I imagine you're wondering why you're still alive." Ventress hissed softly.

'No shit,' Aaron thought weakly.

"Well let me tell you. Force lighting be lethal, but when it's force it merely causes extreme agony. And let me tell you something else, I was charged with protecting Wat Tambor, and with dead, Dooku will be very displeased with me. So consider this revenge for the suffering I will go through because of your actions," she said as she began to electrocute Aaron again.

Aaron roared in pain as Force lighting coursed through his body. 'This isn't regular electricity,' Aaron found himself thinking despite the pain. "If it was I would be dead by now. What the hell is this?' Ventress released her stream of Force lighting as Aaron slumped onto the ground, finding it difficult to breathe. As he stared up at the sky, he could swear he saw a black dot. 'Lighting must be affecting my brain,' he thought.

"This is your own fault," said Ventress a sadistic glee in her voice. "This is what you get when you ally yourselves with the Republic."

'Is it me or is that dot getting bigger?' Aaron thought. "You know," said Aaron pointing behind Ventress "It looks like Ahsoka lost her marbles and is about to ram you with her fighter.

Ventress gave a laugh. "How stupid to you think I am?!" she shouted as she raised her hands to electrocute Aaron again but stopped when she heard a noise similar to that off something speed through the air at high speed. She turned around to see a Jedi fighter speeding towards her position. Aaron mustered all of the strength in his body just to roll out of the way. Ventress jumped out of the way, barley avoiding the fighter as it crashed into the ground and exploded.

"Well, well if it isn't the hairless harpy," came Ahsoka's voice. She had bailed out of the fighter seconds before it had crashed, using the Force to slow her fall. She was facing Ventress, her light saber ignited.

"Skywalker's brat," Ventress spat "Come to save your little friend?"

"Yes," said Ahsoka, as she dashed forward with incredibly speed and swung at Ventress. Ventress blocked with both of her light sabers and countered by with both of her light sabers vertically only to be blocked by Ahsoka. The Togrutan jumped back to avoid another swipe from Ventress, then jumped forward, swinging at Ventress' knees. Ventress blocked and threw a Force push at Ahsoka who barely dodged.

Aaron forced himself to face in the direction of Ventress and Ahsoka as they traded blows. He had been exhausted by Ventress' Force lighting assault, and even the most simple action was taking him a great deal of effort. Ahsoka was moving with great speed, trying to tire Ventress out, while Ventress was executing all out assaults on Ahsoka. "Damnit Aaron don't just lie on your ass," he muttered do something!" he glanced down at his belt. A standard issue combat knife was there, but there was no way he could throw it.

Ahsoka and Ventress continued to trade blows. Ahsoka attempted to jump over Ventress' head and slash her from behind, but Ventress predicted her move and blocked the attack, and then threw a stab at Ahsoka's gut. The Jedi was not fast enough. The light saber pierced her side, causing her to cry out in agony and drop her light saber. Ventress slashed at Ahsoka's light saber, cutting it in half. Ventress then moved forward deactivating one of her light sabers, and grabbing Ahsoka by the throat and lifting her a few feet off of the ground. "Skywalker's mighty apprentice defeated," she said mockingly as Ahsoka's face was contorted with pain. "Any last words?"

Ahsoka forced herself to stay focused, fighting the pain. As she struggled to breath despite the fact that Ventress was choking her, she noticed Aaron behind Ventress, holding something up in the air as if it was causing him a great deal of agony. "No?" said Ventress. "Alright then," she said as she raised her light saber.

Ahsoka opened the palm of her hand, and the knife in Aaron's fist flew out of it's sheath and landed in Ahsoka's hand. Just as Ventress was about to bring her light saber down, Ahsoka brought Aaron's knife up, burring it up to the hilt in Ventress' throat. "How's this for last words?" Ahsoka whispered to Ventress, who was now gagging on her own blood. "If you're going to kill someone, do it, don't standing there gloating about it."

Ventress dropped Ahsoka and her light sabers as she fell to the ground and pulled the knife out of her throat. But with the knife out, the bleeding only increased and Ventress continued to twitch and writhe on the ground until she ceased to move. Ahsoka simply stared at dead body, horrorstruck. "I didn't think she would suffer like that," she muttered "I thought it would kill her instantly. Scooping up the halves of her light saber, she was delighted to find that the crystal had survived, and Ventress' light sabers she limped over to where Aaron lay.

"That was amazing, Ahsoka," Aaron painted as he forced himself into a kneeling position. "I lasted three seconds against that bitch, you downright beat her."

Ahsoka gave a weak grin. "I would've died if you hadn't shown me your knife," she said.

"And would've died if you hadn't shown up," Aaron retorted "So let's call it even. Now lay down, I need to take a look at that wound."

Well Wat Tambor and Ventress are both dead. Tell me what you think about it in a review, and yes I recall all of the reviews saying that Ahsoka was no Sergeant Forge so I changed it, you happy now?


	11. Extremely Awkward

Chapter 11

Extremely Awkward

"Fleetmaster," said Ramore "The main CIS forces have been eliminated, SpecOp teams and Stalker packs are hunting down stragglers. It is estimated we will be able to leave in a matter of hours."

Vadmare nodded. He and Ramore were standing in a Twi'lek village that they had retaken from the CIS, and were staring at the horizon. "'Altre," said Vadmare "What do you think of the status of the war so far?"

Ramore paused a second before answering. "Sir, our technology is vastly superior, our troops are far more skilled, and we are on the offensive. So far the war has been a massive landslide."

"Yes," said Vadmare "I agree with you. So far we have been unstoppable. That bothers me."

"Sir?" asked Ramore, a confused look on his face.

"Your family has good ties with Humans, you may be familiar with the term 'this is too easy'. This war is going too well, I have a feeling that we are going to experience a rude awakening very soon. I pray that I am wrong."

"Wonders of modern medical science." said Aaron as he waved his right arm over Ahsoka who was lying on the ground. On the forearm section of his armor, there was a screen displaying a layout of Ahsoka's body. "With this medical scanner I can figure out anything that's wrong with a patient, from detected fractured bones, to seeing if they have a disease."

Ahsoka managed a smile "That's pretty interesting," she said.

"Yeah," said Aaron as he examined the readout. "Looks like Ventress missed all of your vital organs, it's just a flesh wound. Still it should be treated, it won't do you any good if you get an infection." Aaron gave a frown through his depolarized helmet. "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to take your robes off."

Ahsoka gave a small blush as she said "Well it's you, and you wouldn't even think about doing anything inappropriate, so it's ok." Aaron nodded as he gently undid Ahsoka's outer robes. As they fell to either side of her, Aaron's face involuntarily turned as red as a tomato. Ahsoka was wearing a tube top underneath her robes as a bra, and it was still covering the wound. Ahsoka, wondering why Aaron had stopped, looked at her chest and realized the problem. Her own face turned bright red as she realized their predicament.

"Um," said Ahsoka quietly "You said you needed to treat the wound now?" Aaron nodded silently. Ahsoka took a deep breath, then reached around ot her back and undid the straps of her top. She then discarded it to the side, leaving her chest completely exposed.

'Don't stare, don't stare, don't stare, don't stare, don't stare,' Aaron mentally chanted to himself. But despite his best intentions, he couldn't help but glance. He felt a massive amount of guilty pleasure as he couldn't help up admire Ahsoka's breasts. 'SHE'S GOT A GAPING HOLE IN HER SIDE AND YOU'RE STARING AT HER CHEST JACKASS!' Aaron mentally swore at himself as he drew out a syringe. "I just need to inject you with some painkillers," Aaron said comfortingly as he slid the needle into Ahsoka's arm and emptied the syringe into her bloodstream. Aaron discarded the used syringe into a special bag for disposal and produced and armful of bandages. He quickly wrapped them around Ahsoka's wound, completely covering the wound. "Ok," said Aaron standing up "That should hold for now, when we get back to the _Glorious Victory _you can have a Huragok heal you properly."

Ahsoka nodded as she put her clothes back on and stood up too. They stood there for a few seconds in silence, neither quite willing to talk about what had just happened. "Sorry about your fighter," said Aaron pointing to the smoking heat of scrap metal that had once been capable of flight.

"Oh don't worry about it," said Ahsoka "I can get another one, I'm just glad I got here in time."

"So am I," said Aaron, giving a little shudder. "Whatever the hell that stuff was it wasn't normal electricity. It was much more painful, as a matter of fact I can't remember the last time I felt that much pain. By the way, not that I'm complaining, but why did you come here in the first place?"

"I heard that you were in trouble," said Ahsoka pointing to the communicator in her ear. "And that the Phantoms couldn't get to you in time. Jedi fighters are very fast and…I didn't really think about it, I just wanted to help." She gave a dry chuckle. "I imagine someone at some point is going to chew me out for that. Not to mention the fact that my light saber got cut in half. I'm going to have to get a new one."

"Yeah," said Aaron. "Still you killed Ventress, don't you get points for that? Speaking of which," he said as he walked over to Ventress' corpse. "I'll need this back," he said as he pulled the knife out of Ventress' throat, cleaning it on his shoulder plates.

"I doubt it," said Ahsoka. "Ah well it was worth it."

"Killing Ventress?" asked Aaron as he sheathed his knife.

"No," said Ahsoka slightly more quietly. "Saving you."

"Oh," said Aaron "Thanks." Ahsoka nodded. "Oh look pickup," said Aaron pointing at a Phantom that was approaching them.

"Please tell me that this is a very bad joke," said Amber looking at Aayla, while walking through the Twi'lek village, with an exasperated look on her face.

"I wish that it were," said Aayla with a sad look on her face.

"These people, your people, are used all across the galaxy as prostitutes and slaves?

"Conditions on Ryloth are harsh," said Aayla "It is seen by many as an escape, and my species are considered…attractive by many others."

"I hope you'll excuse me if I have a hard time getting my head around that," said Amber. "Back in the Milky Way, Home worlds are usual thriving, but judging by the way you describe this one, it sounds like you're describing a backwater colony. And slaves, what gives?" she shouting throwing her arms in the air "We outlawed slavery over half a millennia ago when we were shooting ourselves with flintlocks! And you're telling me that it's still legal in the Republic?"

"Not legal," said Aayla "Just not enforced out in the Outer Rim, where it is practiced heavily, especially by the Hutts."

"Well that's bullshit," said Amber "What the Hell are laws good for if you don't enforce them?"

Aayla sighed "I don't normally agree with your Allied Species tactics, but I must admit at moments like this, they seem inviting. I take it if a slavery ring was found in your territory, they would be hunted down like animals?"

"Probably," said Amber. "I mean slavery, it's disgusting, to treat a living being as property, like an object. I mean how the Hell can living things do that to one another?"

"I would tell you the number of times I asked myself that question," said Aayla "but I lost count."

They paused, watching as a Stalker pack walked by, carrying bits and peaces of scrap that looked like the had come from droids. "Amber you there?" came a voice through the Battle-Net.

"Aaron," she said her hand flying to the side of her helmet "Good to hear from you, I was getting worried."

"No need to," said Aaron "Ahsoka saved my sorry ass, and we're both going to be fine."

"Oh did she?" said Amber "Well be careful Aaron, she'd hate to see something happen to you."

"What do you mean?" asked Aaron.

"I…" said Amber inwardly cursing herself 'He doesn't know remember dumb ass?' She thought angrily. "She's a really close friend Aaron, she cares about you."

"True," said Aaron "Not exactly ever person that I meet would slam their fighter into someone just to resue me."

"Yeah," said Amber, trying to conceal the sadness in her voice "Got to go," she said as she lowered her hand." 'Poor guy,' she thought sadly. 'He really likes her .'

The Phantom that Anakin and Ahsoka were riding in docked in the hanger bay of the _Glorious Victory _as they climbed out. "Now take it easy," said Aaron supporting Ahsoka slightly. "The bandages are just covering the wound and helping it heal, it's still there."

"Gee thanks Dad," Ahsoka said playfully causing both of them to laugh. "Um why is that Huragok following us?" asked Ahsoka. Aaron looked behind them and saw that one of the organic supercomputers was indeed following them.

"Oh I forgot to mention, give it your light saber," said Aaron.

"Um, ok," said Ahsoka as she handed the halves of her light saber to the Huragok who took it in one of it's tentacles. It seemed to study it for a moment before raising another tentacle. The tip burst into thousands of microscopic cilla that darted across the light saber in a blur. Half a minute later, the Huragok handed Ahsoka her light saber back, with it looking like it was brand new. Ahsoka studied her newly repaired light saber before igniting it and giving it a couple of experimental swings. She deactivated it and turned to say "thanks" but the Huragok had already floated off.

"Yeah," said Aaron "They're dead useful, but they don't seem to care about anything other than fixing things. Anyway let's get that wound looked at."

Back on the surface of Ryloth Ventress' corpse lay moitinless on the ground, the bleeding had oddly stopped. A hand twitched.

Thousands of light-years away from Ryloth, on the planet Corusant, Chancellor Palpatine sat in front of a hologram of Kit Fisto. "It is confirmed then? Wat Tambor and Ventress are dead?" Fisto nodded. "Very well," said Palpatine "Thank you for your time Master Fisto, but I must really get back to work." Fisto nodded as his hologram disappeared.

Palpatine leaned back into his chair, a smile spreading across his face. Sitting up straight he activated his communicator, causing a hologram of Count Dooku to appear. "Wat Tambor is dead," he said "Just as we planned, that greedy fool was more of a liability than an asset."

Dooku bowed slightly "Ordering Tambor to launch an assault on Ryloth while the Allied Species were scourging the area was a brilliant idea my master," he said. As he did so a frown spread across his face "How will we deal with these Allied Species my master?"

Palpatine simply smiled. "I believe it is time to call upon our mutually beneficial friend. As he spoke a second hologram activated displaying an alien.

"What!" it said angrily "I have better things do to than talk to you, you know."

"Yes, yes," said Palpatine dissmisivly. "Tell your master it is time to put our plan into action."

Who is Palpatine conspiring with? You'll find out. please reveiw


	12. Diplomacy gone bad

Chapter 12

Diplomacy gone bad

"Ambassador 'Altre huh?" Aaron as he sat against the side of a Phantom's passenger area.

"Yes," said Ramore who seemed more interested in the holo-pad in his hand. "No matter how many times I read it this story still bothers me. Romeo was in love with Rosaline before he met Juliet yet he didn't kill himself over her."

The _Glorious Victory _had been temporarily pulled out of active combat, due to the fact that Vadmare had been charged with acting as ambassador to the Republic. To the surprise of many, he had turned down the role giving it to Ramore instead saying that he would be better at it, due to his family's pro-human relationships. Ramore wasn't very enthusiastic about his position, but he had accepted it nonetheless. He, Aaron, Amber, Ahsoka, Anakin, and Padmé were ridding a Phantom down to the surface of Corusant. They had launched from the Glorious Victory which was stationed in low orbit, easily visible from the ground.

"So we're going to see the Jedi council?" asked Amber.

"Yeah," said Anakin "We can't bring the whole senate together just to meet one ambassador, so it was decided if it was better if you talked to the council."

"Why are we doing this all of a sudden?" asked Aaron. "Seems a little random don't you think?"

"The chancellor requested that a ambassador be sent," said Anakin "He's currently off planet so he couldn't come himself."

There was a silent hiss as the Phantom landed and the doors opened. The passengers exited and got a glimpse at the front of the Jedi temple. "Impressive architecture," said Ramore "Still Sangheili architecture is superior."

"If you don't mind me asking," said Aayla on board the bridge of the _Glorious Victory_, "Why did you deny the Ambassador position?"

"I'm a warrior not a politician," said Vadmare standing up from his gravity chair. " 'Altre will perform admirably, his family is high supportive of inter-species relationships. Also, I highly doubt I would be able to control my temper."

"Why would that be an issue?" asked Aayla.

"The more and more I learn about your Jedi order," he said "The less and less I approve."

"What do you mean?" asked Aayla not quite sure if she wanted to now the answer.

"From what I've heard the Jedi order is supposed to act as the peacekeepers of this galaxy. But that means that in order to keep peace, they must influence their will on that of the populace of this galaxies population, which I do believe is against the Jedi code, making them hypocrites. Also how are the Jedi chosen? They are born. They are not elected, they are not chosen, they are born. Thousands of years ago, many Humans lived under leaders called Kings, they were born of "Royal" blood and therefore, where born into leadership. Some of them were fair and just rulers, whilst others were corrupt and greedy caring only about themselves."

"So what are you saying?" asked Aayla.

"The Jedi order, from my point of view, is too vulnerable to corruption," said Vadmare. "It must rely on the strength of every individual in order to remain just, and that is never insured. Overall, I may respect some Jedi, and I would love nothing more to kill others. You and Tano, luckily, fall into the former category. I disagree with your tactics, but a respect you resilience to the corruption of war, and your fighting skills."

"Thank you," said Aayla. "And I must admit, while a disagree with you tactics, there is no denies that you save the lives of many of your men in the progress. I don't approve, but I understand that it isn't my place to make choices for your people. So…truce?" she said before holding out her hand.

Vadmare paused for a moment, before shaking it and saying "Truce."

"One last question," said Aayla "You said you respected Ahsoka as well?"

For the first time that Aayla had known him, Vadmare smiled. "Oh yes," he said "So much skill and courage for one so young. She holds the position of commander in her own forces, yet she risked her life in order to save the life of a single ODST that was only a Corporal. Yes I see great potential in her."

"Fleetmaster," said a Sangheili helmsman "Six Slipspace portals just opened in low orbit behind the Republic defensive fleet, ships are exiting."

"I received no news that other ships were to be sent here. Establish Battle-Net connections," said Vadmare.

"They are not responding," said the Helmsman.

'Twelve council members,' Aaron mentally thought 'I know two and that's it.' He and Amber were standing outside of the chambers that held the Jedi council. "Any reason they left us out here?" he asked.

"Something about us upsetting fragile matters." replied Amber At least that's what that Windu guy said. Seems like a hard ass."

"Like 'Katar?" asked Aaron.

"I get the feeling I like 'Katar better. I get the feeling you do too." Aaron nodded. "Wait," said Amber "What's today's date?"

"May 18th 259..." Aaron began but his voice faltered as his eyes widened. "Fourteen years ago today." he whispered so silently that Amber could barely hear her.

Amber nodded sadly. "You still miss her don't you?" Aaron nodded. "So do I," she said.

"You mean to tell me, that your Allied Species has only been in existence for 28 years?" asked Mace Windu who was sitting in a chair in the Jedi Council Chamber.

"Age does not equal strength," said Ramore "Your Republic has existed for millennia yet it collapses around you. While we have lost countless in the Human-Covenant war and in the War on Salvation, the Allied Species stands strong. Do not insult me Windu."

In Ramore's opinion this whole meeting was pointless. Half of the council wasn't even present, they were attending via hologram. The members present were Kit Fisto, Windu, a Jedi named Plo Koon, a Jedi named Shaak Ti that was the same race as Ahsoka, a Jedi named Yoda, and Obi-Wan They had mainly been introducing basic data about the Republic and the Allied Species. Anakin, Ahsoka and Padmé were also present Anakin looked amused, Ahsoka tired, and Padmé exasperated. "Very well," said the holograms of one of the Jedi not present "I suggest we move on to a more important topic such as the use of these weapons you called energy projectors, I for one…" but before he could continue, a high pitched noise echoed through the room and all of the holograms dissipated.

"What just happened?" asked Plo Koon, as Aaron and Amber entered the room.

"Ramore is your com unit working?" asked Aaron. "Mine went dead, so did Amber's." Ramore raised his hand to his helmet before lowering it, shaking his head.

"Someone's jamming our communications," said Ahsoka "Who?"

"That might be a good bet," said Aaron pointing out of the enormous window that the Chamber had. Six ships of former Covenant design were floating in low orbit. "What are they doing?" asked Aaron "I thought that we were the only ones who…" but he was cut off as one of the ships fired it's energy projector.

"By the Force!" said Shaak Ti as the other five vessels fired their energy projectors as well. The concentrated beams of plasma burned the many cities of Corusant, leaving not a glass like crystal, but oceans of molten metal due to the high number of buildings. The sheer force of the Energy Projectors was stunning, as many who stared at them were blinded by the light.

Vadmare Katar felt rage flow through him as he observed the ships glassing Corusant. No sooner at they ceased firing their energy projectors, then the ships opened portals to slipspace with the intention of escaping. "Full speed ahead!" he roared "Aim for the nearest portal!"

"What are you doing?" asked Aayla as the ship roared to life, heading towards the nearest slipspace portal with massive speed.

"Those ships just glassed civilians!" Vadmare roared. "I am very interested in finding out why and in making ever last person one those ships pay!" he roared as the Glorious victory slipped through one of the portals just before it closed.

"Jesus Christ," whispered Amber as she looked out at the glassed areas of Corusant. Disturbingly it stopped only a mile or two away from the Jedi Temple "How many people live on this planet?"

"Approximately 1 trillion," said Shaak Ti quietly. Nearly everyone in the room simply stared out of the window in horror. Except for one. Mace Windu stood up igniting his light saber.

"Master Windu," said Ahsoka nervously "What are you doing?"

"It is not clear what has happened here," he said in a eerily calm voice. "But six ships resembling Allied Species design have just bombarded Corusant killing billions. Until this matter is made clear exactly what has occurred here," he continued pointing him light saber at Ramore, Amber and Aaron "You three will be taken into custody."

An incredibly loud silence followed these words. Ramore broke it. "I think not," he said as he activated both of his energy swords and held them in a fighting stance. "I am Ramore 'Altre, I came to this temple to act as an ambassador, and I would carve my hearts out before I let myself be arrested like a common criminal."

Obi-Wan stepped in-between the two of them, his arms raised. "Look, we're all in shock," he said in a calming voice "We're not thinking straight, we need to figure out exactly what happened before we do anything we may regret later."

"He's right," said Ahsoka "Ramore if you kill Master Windu, your family might go down in history as the one that caused war to break out between the Republic and the Allied Species."

"And master Windu," said Padmé "I know your trust is not easily gained, but if you detain Allied Species soldiers there might be severe consequences. You have not met Vadmare 'Katar, he would glass this entire planet just to get these three home safely."

"She's not exaggerating," said Amber.

"Agree with master Kenobi, I do," said Yoda from his seat. "Too soon for action it is."

Ramore and Windu said nothing, but continued to stare each other down, weapons at the ready. "Very well," said Ramore as he deactivated his energy swords and reattached them to the magnetic clamps on his tights. Windu also deactivated his light saber and attached it to his belt. "For now," he said.

"We are exiting slipspace," said a Sangheili Helmsman through the Battle-Net. Vadmare 'Katar, Aayla Secura, Jen, and dozens of other Allied Species troopers, were standing in a boarding craft.

"Aim for their main power supply," Vadmare said over the Battle-Net. "They'll be forced to switch to auxiliary power witch will only be enough to power life support and artificial gravity. After that, launch boarding craft," he took is hand away from his helmet. "We will be boarding the bridge," said Vadmare to the personal in the craft. "Do not hesitate to defend yourselves. After all hostiles are either dead or disabled we will access the main data banks and figure out what the hell is going on!"

As the _Glorious Victory _exited slipspace into a vast array of nothing, it set it's sights on a frigate of former Covenant design. The frigate fired a plasma torpedo at the _Glorious Victory _and it impacted on the forward shields. Despite this the _Glorious Victory _was a CCS-battlecruiser, and it simply outgunned the frigate. It fired three torpedoes at the frigate, which punched a hole in the shields, and then fired pulse lasers through the gap disapling the primary power. The shields failed, the engines died, the weapons deactivated, and the frigate became adrift in space, as boarding craft were launched from the _Glorious Victory_.

Vadmare 'Katar gritted his mandibles as the boarding craft he was in was slammed into the side of the frigate and the door opened onto the bridge. The crew was all Jiralhanae, who raised their various weapons and opened fire. A couple of Allied Species troopers collapsed under the strain as the rest returned fire. Vadmare, Aayla, and Jen all charged forward, Aayla holding her ignited light saber, Jen her katana, and Vadmare his energy sword. They hacked away at the various Jiralhanae that faced them, Aayla cutting the chest of a Minor open, while Jen sliced a Captain in half and Vadmare stabbed a Major in the stomach.

Then a Chieftain that looked like the commander of the Frigate charged forward wielding a gravity hammer. The chieftain swung his hammer, sending three troopers flying through the air, killing them. He swung again, this time crushing a Allied Species Jiralhanae Minor under his hammer. Vadmare exchanged his sword for his plasma rifles, a let loose a hell storm of plasma at the Chieftain. The Chieftain struggled to stay up even after it's shields had collapsed, but after Vadmare had fired plasma bolts are him for a solid minute, he finally collapsed. It didn't take too long to finish up after that, a few more marines were lost, but the bridge was taken without too much trouble.

Vadmare starred at the body of the Chieftain. "Extremists," he said "Even with Salvation gone they still make raids every once in awhile."

"But why would they attack the capital of the Republic?" asked Aayla.

"That," said Jen "Is a question I think I might have an answer for," said Jen. "It looks like the Chieftain tried to smash the computers with his gravity hammer, but Mathew managed to salvage a couple of bits of data. Look at this," said Jen as a hologram appeared above the terminal she was standing at, as Vadmare and Aayla approached.

"After the attack, make a random jump to slipspace on your own in case you are followed," said the hologram. "If you are, destroy all of the databanks before the enemy can salvage any of it. If you are not followed, jump to the following coordinates and regroup there. May the Great Journey guide us all!" and the hologram disappeared.

"Sir," said Jen quietly "It…it was a Prophet. It was Salvation." Vadmare said nothing as he took a step forward. Then he let out a roar and smashed his fist against the wall, punching a hole in it.

"Communications are back online," said Amber as she, Aaron, Ramore, and Ahsoka all pressed their hands to their com units.

"Ramore, Aaron, Amber, Ahsoka are you there?" came Jen's voice.

"We're here Jen," said Ahsoka "What's going on?"

"I'm afraid I have some bad news, said Jen "The attack on Corusant, was carried out by Jiralhanae Extremists, and the order given by the Prophet of Salvation." Nobody said a thing. Aaron's hand fell from his com unit, his face oddly blank as he starred straight ahead at nothing.

Salvation returns as tensions flare. looks like Vadmare's bad feeling from last chapter as come true. Well please review.


	13. Comfort

Chapter 13

Comfort

A Phantom holding the ground team that had been deployed to Corusant flew towards the _Glorious Victory _the crew having salvaged all of the data that they could from the frigate before scuttling it. Aaron, Ahsoka, Amber, Ramore, Kit, Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padmé all road in the Phantom, the Jedi and Padmé had insisted on accompanying the Allied Species personal to their destination insiting on helping them. The Glorious Victory was to return to Allied Species space, where sips were being organized to head to the coordinates that had been salvaged from the frigate's computer.

Aaron was silent as he stared at the wall, not showing any signs of being conscious. Be had been silent ever since Jen had informed them that Salvation was still at large. As the Phantom docked the _Glorious Victory_'s hanger bay, he exited the drop ship without a word, heading to his quarters. Ahsoka bit her lip as she watched him go. Something was wrong with him, but she didn't know what. "Is Aaron ok?" she asked Amber as she exited the drop ship.

Amber sighed, "I really don't know," she said. "I guess hearing that Salvation is at large again has got him pretty shocked."

"No one else is reacting the way he is, are you sure that he's all right."

Amber looked around nervously before saying "It's not my place to say, but my brother is a little different from everyone else around here. Look if you really want to help my brother I suggest that you go talk to him. For all intents and purposes I think it will be good for him, you might be able to get to him in a way I can't."

Ahsoka paused, thinking the idea through. "Yeah, I'll do that," she said as she walked off.

"I wish you luck," said Amber "Please, do the best you can for my brother. And is you feel up to it, damn that freaking code of yours," she said muttering the last sentence.

"Make the jump to slip space," said Vadmare 'Katar from the bridge, as the helmsmen of the _Glorious Victory _carried out his orders. The fleet master sat back in his gravity chair, quietly thinking. '29 years have passed, and the disgrace of life that is Salvation still exists. He must have an entire fleet at his disposal if he sent out a group that he wasn't commanding directly. The fighting will be brutal, I must be ready.'

Aaron sat on the bed in his quarters, staring at the wall, not quite sure what to think. The Extremists had returned and in full force on the less. His mind seemed to be full of information, yet empty at the same time, unable to form a concrete thought. He jumped a little bit as the door opened and Ahsoka entered, closing the door behind her. "Um, hi," she said a little awkwardly. Aaron nodded numbly. He had removed his helmet and weapons, placed them in various places throughout the room. "Mind if I sit down?" asked Ahsoka pointing next to where Aaron was sitting on the bed. He shook his head as she sat down.

A few silent moments passed with neither of them saying anything. Ahsoka broke it. "Aaron what's wrong?" she asked looking him in the eye. "You're not yourself, ever since you found out about Salvation you've been like a walking corpse. Please Aaron, I care about you, I can't stand to see you like this." Something twinkled in the back of Aaron's eyes as he broke eye contact with Ahsoka and stared at the wall again.

He spoke after a few seconds. "Do you remember your mother?"

Ahsoka frowned "No," she said "She died when I was very young, at least I think she did. I don't know, I was only three when Plo Koon took me to the temple.

"I remember mine," said Aaron. "She was a strong woman, an ODST, she served in the war on Salvation 29 years ago. She didn't have personal shielding, she didn't have genetic augmentations, she had her gun and her guts. She served bravely and made it to the end of the war. Afterwards she settled down, married a man named Rodger, and moved to one of the outermost Human colonies. She hated cities, too noisy, and there weren't any on the colony. Then she got pregnant with me and Amber. Rodger wanted to get an abortion, he wasn't too keen on being a father, but my mother wouldn't hear any of it."

"When we were born, Rodger became distant, he started drinking. It's a little hazy, but I remember him coming home drunk a couple of times. When my mom got on his ass on where he had been, he slapped her. She didn't like that, so she broke his nose," Aaron chuckled and even Ahsoka let out a small giggle "She never was the submissive type. Anyway, one day he was even more drunk than usual and he hit Amber. My mom saw it and she went ballistic, she grabbed one of her old military guns and chased him out of the house, saying that if she ever saw him anywhere near her house again she would blow his head off. In fact the only reason Rodger got out of there alive was that she was so angry she aimed a little too much to the left. After that she came back in and hugged both of us very tightly, then tucked us in after giving us milk and cookies."

Ahsoka smiled. "She sounds sweet. I wish I could've met her."

"Yeah," said Aaron "But then, fourteen years ago today, something awful happened."

"What?" asked Ahsoka.

"Jiralhanae Extremists raided our town," said Aaron. "My mom was suiting up in her old ODST armor. She told us to hide in a small compartment that was next to invisible from the outside. Then they came into our house. My mom managed to kill three of them before she ran out of ammunition." Aaron paused for a second as tears began to stream down her face. "They dragged her off, she was screaming, not in distress but in anger. She was shouting that she was going to kill every last one of them with her bare hands. Amber and I never saw her again." Aaron buried his head in his hands at this point as he began to sob quietly. "God…I miss her so much Ahsoka."

Ahsoka, acting almost completely on instinct, wrapped her arms around Aaron, who returned the favor almost instantly. Ahsoka held Aaron as tightly as she could as he quietly cried into her shoulder. 'Their father was a drunk, and their mother a hero,' Ahsoka thought 'safe bet they take after their mother. Poor guy to have lost his mother so young.'

"Fourteen years," he sobbed "Fourteen years, I can remember it like it happened yesterday." Aaron hugged the Jedi pressed his face into her robes, unintentionally soaking them. After a few minutes had passed, Aaron's sobs began to subside. He pulled away from Ahsoka wiping his eyes. "Ahsoka," he said "Thank you, I've never talked to anyone about this besides Amber. I just…thank you."

"Any time," said Ahsoka glad to see that Aaron was talking again. Ahsoka felt like she should leave at that point, with there being to further reason for her being here, but she couldn't bring herself to look away from Aaron, who was staring back at her.

Almost in perfect unity, they began to lean forward, moving slowly, every so slowly towards each other. Their lips met. Before they knew what was happening, they were kissing each other passionately. Ahsoka leaned forward slightly accidentally overbalancing them so that they ended up lying on Aaron's bed, Ahsoka on top of Aaron. The broke away and looked at each other, blushing furiously. Then Aaron spoke. "Ahsoka, there's something else I need to get off my chest. You are without a doubt the most amazing woman I have ever met. You can run wild and free like the wind, yet you can also be calm and tranquil. You looks are unsurpassed by anyone I have ever met and, well this may be going a little far but…Ahsoka…I love you. But if you can't do anything about it because of you being a Jedi, then I understand if I'm way out of league.

Ahsoka's eyes widened as she heard Aaron's words, and a smile broke across her face. "Aaron, I need to tell you something too. You have got to be the nicest guy I've met, and you wouldn't believe how may people I've met. You're kind, sweet, and you signed up for this without complaining. When I heard that Ventress wanted to kill you I wanted to help you because… I love you too Aaron. And frankly, you're worth breaking the Jedi code for."

Aaron smiled. "Thank you," he said, "By the way, this is for holding me while a I cried," he said as he pulled her closer and kissed her deeply. Ahsoka closed her eyes as she kissed him back with great enthusiasm. Was this real? Could something this wonderful actually be reality? These thoughts ran through the heads of both of them as he held each other tightly kissing each other.

They were still kissing when the door opened, and the both broke away rather violently to see who had entered. Amber was standing in the doorway, her face bright red. "Umm," she said "I was checking up on you to make sure that you were ok. I felt a little guilty about having Ahsoka do it."

"Can you keep a secret sis?" asked Aaron.

"Yeah defiantly," said Amber who was rubbing the back of her neck in obvious discomfort. "Well I'll leave you two alone to…get acquainted," and with that Amber left he room.

"Oh God that was embarrassing," Amber moaned to herself as she closed the door behind her. "I just walked in on Aaron getting to first base with…wait." Amber had been so embarrassed that she had been unable to think straight. 'Aaron and Ahsoka had been kissing…AARON AND AHSOKA WERE KISSING!' she thought. A smile broke across her face as she looked at the door behind her. "Good for you Aaron. It's about time you found someone."

"Hey Amber," said a voice. Amber turned to see Jen, wearing her Hayabusa minus the helmet. "Hey where's Aaron I wanted to talk to him.

"Um," said amber her mind grinding furiously trying to come up with an excuse for why Jen could not enter the room behind her. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Why?" asked Jen a confused look on her face. Then realization broke across her face. "Is Ahsoka in there?"

"How did you…" said Amber.

"Are they kissing?" asked Jen. "Oh please Amber," said Jen noticing the stunned look on Amber's face. "I'm a SPARTAN IV I notice every last detail that there is to notice. And as a matter of fact I was aiming for them to be the 30th couple I got together." Jen sighed "But it looks like they were able to do it on their own. Aw well, I'll have to look around for more possible candidates. You never know, there might be a couple that are perfect for each other and they…don't even…realize…it." her talking slowed as Aayla Secura and Kit Fisto walked by, talking intently. They both smiled and laughed before continuing on their way. A very large grin broke out across Jen's face.

"Please tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking," said Amber.

"Alright," said Jen "Now I need to go not do what I'm not thinking about," she said as she walked off.

"What?" asked Amber.

I've got to say I think I pulled that off a lot better than in the last story. Now then I need to ask you an important question. Should I bring back a SPARTAN that we all know and love for this story? If you think so tell me in your review, if not say no in your review. Reviews without a yes or a no will be randomized and counted. Please tell me what you think I should do and as always please review.


	14. Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 14

Calm before the Storm

Well by massive popular vote, a SPARTAN we all know and love will be making an appearance in this story. Sorry but I may not be updating as frequently as usual my computer keeps locking up on me. Anyway enjoy this chapter.

The _Glorious Victory _was at slipspace heading towards the coordinates acquired from the Extremist frigate. But it was not alone, over a hundred Allied Species warships were in tight formation, heading for the same destination and expecting the worse. On these ships there was an army of troopers and all of the equipment they would need, guns, tanks, fighters, deployable firebases, you name it, they had it. Despite they return to Allied Species Space and the Milky Way Galaxy had taken several days, it would take a couple more until the fleet reached their destination, and the calm before the storm was eating away at nearly everyone's nerves.

"Keep pacing like that and you'll burn a hole in the plating," Ramore said, looking up from his holo-pad at Anakin who was pacing from wall to wall in the sparing room. Ramore had found calmness more easily than others, simply reading a comedy caused the tension in him to deflate like a balloon.

"I can't help it," said Anakin through grited teeth. "You saw what they did to Corusant, billions are dead because of them and the longer we take to eliminate them the longer they have to strike again."

"I understand your frustration," said Ramore "I grew up hearing horrible tales about the Extremists. Back when they were young they glassed entire planets, not just fractions of them. Then again Allied Species planets rarely exceed a population of 10 billion. Nonetheless, everyone was terrified that their home would be next, not knowing if they should stay or run. Most likely the Extremists today are at a fraction of their former strength. And although we are equipped for a final confrontation for them, we don't even know what will find, we just might find a small outpost they were planning to regroup at. Do yourself a favor and relax, it won't do you any good if you are exhausted when we arrive and there is a fight to be had."

"Easier said than done," said Anakin.

"What's going on?" asked Amber as she walked into the Cafeteria to find a small group huddled around a holographic projector.

"The Chancellor is speaking about the attack," said Aayla as Amber sat down just in time to listen to Palpatine begin his speech.

"Citizens of the Galactic Republic," said Palpatine. "Several days ago, a tragedy that will be remembered for years struck the galaxy. Six unidentified ships appeared in the skies above Corusant, and bombarded the planets surface with incredibly advanced weaponry. Billions were killed in the attack and approximant 10% of the planet is now inhabitable. The ships that bombarded Corusant resembled the design of warships from the Allied Species, a new faction in the war, originating from another galaxy known as the Milky Way. They claim the attack came not from them, but from a splinter organization known at the Jiralhanae Extremists. Many Senators and citizens, even members of the Jedi order and council, believe it to be a poor attempt at covering up an unprovoked attack from the Allied Species."

'I have a very bad feeling about this,' Amber thought.

"The public has been screaming for the last few days, demanding that the Allied Species pay for what they have done. People ask me if I believe this ridiculous story the Allied Species have presented us. Do I believe it?" Amber sighed and lowered her head. "Of course I do!" exclaimed Palpatine. Amber's head shot back up as Palpatine continued "If the Allied Species wished for our destruction they could have done it much more effectively by allying themselves with CIS. Yet they didn't and that only leaved on possible explanation, the attack on Corusant was carried out by Jiralhanae Extremists. As we speak Allied Species fleets are currently hunting throughout their territory, searching for the stronghold of the Extremists. I have urged the Jedi council to take action to assist them, but many of them remained convinced that it is a ruse. Thankfully, not all of the Jedi are so shortsighted, a handful of them were seen leaving Corusant on an Allied Species drop ship, most likely to assist them in their hunt of the Extremists. I hope that they are able to eliminate them quickly and with minimal casualties, may the Force be with them," and with that the hologram deactivated."

"Well," said Amber as silence enveloped the room "That went a lot better than I expected."

"True," said Kit Fisto "But there is something odd about Palpatine. How many other people would be so accepting of an organization they just met?"

"Kit has a point," said Aayla "Something isn't right here."

"You may be right," said Amber "But I'm a little relieved that we don't have to fight a war with you guys in addition to the CIS and the Extremists to see what it is. Whatever it is it probably it con probably wait until the Extremists are dealt with."

"Fair enough," said Aayla.

Vadmare 'Katar sat in his gravity chair on the bridge reading a ball book in his hand. The book he was reading was _The Art of War _by Sun Tzu. For the past few days, he had done nothing but train, study every last record of combat during the War on Salvation, studding other military textbooks, eaten and slept, although he had been neglecting the last two slightly.

Merely muttering the word salvation in his presence nowadays would cause him to shake in anger. Salvation, the one who had caused the deaths of so many, who had destroyed Vadmare's first ship and entire crew, who had taken his son away from him. Vadmare shook his head, for nearly three decades he had tried to not think about his son, for it caused him to nearly drown in sorrow. Instead he tried to focus on his work, plan for the next battle, kill the next opponent, get as many people as he could home safely, but the return of Salvation, rage had began to course through him, and he felt that if it grew out of control, it would be like the same anger that possessed him the day his son died. On that day, rage had moved his body, controlled his mind, driven him to kill half a thousand Jiralhanae. He was capable of keeping it in check, but should something happen, something that impacted him as greatly as his son's death had, he would descend into a berserker rage again.

The bridge was empty except for him, the rest of the crew were currently resting. He turned around as he heard the door open and Obi-Wan stepped in. "Um, hello," said Obi-Wan. Vadmare spared him a glance before turning back to his book. "Look I don't mean to be a bother, but do you have any idea what we're getting into?"

"None," answered Vadmare. "We could stumble upon a small rundown outpost, or we may be heading into Salvation's base of operations. The council gave us an entire fleet because they didn't feel like taking chances. One things for sure, we will eliminate any Extremist forces we encounter and salvage any data that will lead us to further outposts. Salvation is a threat to all of existence, as persistent as Regret, as brutal as Mercy, and as cunning as Truth."

"Um," said Obi-Wan looking confused "Who are you talking about?"

"I apologize," said Vadmare, not dropping his cold voice "Regret, Mercy and Truth, the three prophets that led the Covenant during the time of it's downfall. Salvation seems to have mirrored himself after them, taking the best of their traits and abandoned the rest. He wished to see his goals come to past with every fiber of his being, just like Regret, only he is patient able to remain calm. Regret could not, and he paid for it with his life. This is the same person that was the terror of the Milky Way 29 years ago, and the fact that he has survived this long means he his even smarter than we thought. I know your code goes against killing the unarmed, but in this case you must make an exception should the opportunity present itself. Salvation can not be allowed to live, too many people have died by his actions, and countless more will die if he escapes."

"There may be another way," said Obi-Wan "There's always another way."

Vadmare gave a hollow laugh. "You are like Secura, very stubborn unwilling to let go of your beliefs. I will humor you, find a way I can not kill Salvation and unsure the safety of every last living thing and I will consider it. Until then," he said turning away from Obi-Wan "I must prepare for whatever lies ahead."

"Um Jen right?" said Padmé as she walked by the SPARTAN in the Glorious Victory's gymnasium. The SPARTAN was wearing her workout clothes and was performing pull-ups single handily was showing any signs of effort.

"Padmé," said Jen happily as she flipped herself over the bar, landing gracefully on her feet. "How can I help you?"

"You know Ahsoka Tano right?" asked Padmé. Jen nodded. "I couldn't help but notice the poor girl seems a bit depressed of late. I think she may like something but be afraid to show it because of the Jedi code. I was wondering if you knew who she was interested in." Padmé looked at Jen a little desperately, but Jen was grinning.

"Trust me," said Jen her face still split in a smile "I don't think you have anything to worry about. Let's just say she talked with someone and I think they'll be just fine." Jen stopped rather abruptly staring directly at Padmé. She looked like she was forcing herself to stay quite but after a few seconds she whispered "Can you keep a secret?"

"Yes of course," said Padmé curiously "I've had some practice keeping secrets." An image of Anakin flew through her head.

"Ok," said Jen eagerly "But remember, you can't tell anyone, or Ahsoka will cut my head off with my own katana. You remember how Aaron seemed rather distant after what happened on Corusant?" Padmé nodded. Nearly everyone ad noticed Aaron's aloofness, but they were rather surprised when it had mysteriously disappeared overnight. "Yeah, well Amber walked into his quarters to make sure that he was ok and she him kissing Ahsoka."

Padmé's eyes widened. "Get out," she mouthed. She had thought that Ahsoka had fallen for someone, but she wouldn't have expected Aaron. They had seemed more like siblings than lovers.

"I'm not kidding," said Jen happily. This was why she loved matchmaking. In addition to bringing people endless joy, she would talk about it with other women and feel like she was back in high school. "I guess what? From what I heard from Amber they both might have mentioned that they loved each other."

"Oh my," said Padmé a little weakly. "I thought it was just a crush, I didn't think it went that far."

"Trust me Padmé," said Jen. "Provided the Jedi don't find out about this, those two have long-term relationship written all over them."

"Aaron what are we doing here?" Ahsoka asked as she sat in the armory.

"Just grabbing some stuff sore when we have to deploy just so I have it now in case I forget," he said as he pulled an anti-gravity lift from the wall and placed it in his backpack. "Oh by the way," he said with the tone of someone who has just remembered something. "I want you to take this with you." Aaron held out his hand, revealing a magnum pistol and several magazines.

"No," said Ahsoka almost immediately. "No Aaron, I don't do guns."

"Ahsoka," said Aaron "Just listen to me. The only weapon you have is your light saber and if you lose that you're defenseless. I'm not asking you to use it, just hang on to it just in case. Better to not need it and have it than to need it and not have it. Also," he said a blush creeping up his neck "It'll ease my conscious to know that you're properly prepared."

Ahsoka gave a shy smiled as she stood up, and took the magnum and magazines. "All right," she said "But I don't plan on using it. My light saber and the Force rarely fail me."

"Fair enough," said Aaron "Like I said it's just an insurance policy."

"Well you did have my best interest had heart," said Ahsoka slyly, "So here's little non-verbal thank you." as she finished her sentence, she leaned in to kiss Aaron, who happily responded.

Countless of light-years away a Jiralhanae Extremist ship was entering slipspace, carrying a package they had just acquired. "We found it drifting in space. It appears to be some sort of stasis pod apparently forerunner design." said a Jiralhanae Minor as we walked along side a Chieftain. "We were able to salvage this message from it." The Minor handed the Chieftain a holo-pad. As he read the message.

THIS IS THE LAST MESSAGE OF 05-032 MENDICANT BIAS. THIS RECLAIMER WAS DRIFTING IN THE WRECKAGE IN OF INSTILLATION 00. I SUSTAINED HEAVY DAMAGED FROM THE DESTRUCTION OF INSTILLATION 00 BUT MANAGED TO OVERRIDE A FEW SURVIVING SENTINALS TO TRANSPORT THE RECLAIMER TO A SURVIVNG STATIS POD. WHILE IN THE POD THE RECLAIMER WILL BE REVIVED, ANY INJURIES NO MATTER HOW SEVERVE WILL BE COMPLETELY HEALED. THE MEDICAL CAPABILITES OF THIS POD IS CAPABLE OF RESUECTING THE DEAD. THE POD IS CAPABLE OP SUSTAINED THE RECLAIMER FOR MILLIENIA. WHILE MY ACTIONS MAY HAVE SAVED THIS RECLAIMERS LIFE, SAVING ONE LIFE DOES NOT COMPENSTATE FOR THE MURDER OF MILLIONS. STILL PERHAPDS IT WILL EASE MY CONCIOUS BEFORE I DIE, IF ONLY A LITTLE.

LAST MESSAGE OF 05-032 MENDICANT BIAS.

The Chieftain gave an ugly smiled as he read the pad. "There is a Human in that pod, we may be able to use it." he said "Send a message, tell him what we found here."

"But sir," said the Minor "Salvation already has a Human, we captured one long ago do you not remember?"

"It was stored in a cryo stasis built by humans," said the Chieftain "It may have died because of the flawed technology. Besides," he said lifting his arms up. "This is clearly a gift from the Gods. It would be an insult not to use it."

Well the Extremists have picked up something interesting. I thought I'd give Bias a little bit of redemption. Now what do you think is in that pod? Please review.


	15. Hell Breaks Loose

Chapter 15

Hell Breaks Loose

"We will be exiting slipspace in five minutes," came the voice of an Admiral Hanson through the Battle-Net. Hanson had been given command of the fleet sent to investigate the Extremists. Vadmare's record was impressive, but he had only been a Fleetmaster for around a month, while Hanson had been an Admiral for years, the Lord Hood of his day. If Vadmare had issues with not being given command of the mission, he did not show them in even the most minor of ways. He still had the rank of Fleetmaster, but for all intents and purposes, on this mission he was a Shipmaster again. He seemed content with having command of his own ship, yet he had been chosen as the one who would take command should Hanson be killed or incapacitated.

"I'm sure all of your are familiar with the tales of the horrible things Salvation had done," said Hanson his voice vibrating through the hears of every last Allied Species personal, even the Jedi were listening to him through earpieces they had been provided. "Families have been destroyed, Parents have lost their children." On the bridge of the Glorious Victory Vadmare snarled. "Children have lost their parents." In HEV pods ready to be deployed, Aaron and Amber glanced at the ground, their hearts heavy. "His rein of terror has gone on long enough. No more! No further! No one else dies! Members of the Allied Species, members of the Jedi order who have bravely volunteered to join us, lend me your strength help me end the terror of this madman!" A roar of approval rang through the Battle-Net, men and women of all of the species cried out in approval.

"Hey," said Ahsoka through the Battle-Net through a private channel to Aaron.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Aaron asked a little weakly.

"I thought that you might need a little help right about now." she said a slight frown on her face. "And with my fighter destroyed and no replacement yet I thought I try jumping. I was wondering if you could talk me through it."

Aaron gave a small chuckle. "You know this isn't the best time to be making the first drop. As a matter of fact we might not even be deployed."

"Oh really?" asked Ahsoka smiling "When did you make your first drop?"

"In a situation that required me to jump blind," he admitted sheepishly. "Ok fine, do want to do it on auto, or manually? Popular choice is manual so compensations can be made."

"Manual," said Ahsoka.

"Ok, from what Ramore's told me it's like piloting a fighter that only goes down. Take a firm grip on your controls and when we drop, use them to steer the direction of the pod, up makes you go down, and vice versa. Also when I tell you to deploy your flaps, deploy them unless you want to save us the trouble of burying you, because your pod will become your coffin."

Ah"Simple controls, watch out for anything to hit, and hit the button when you tell me to, that it?" Ahsoka asked.

"Pretty much," said Aaron, as a vibration ran through the ship, signifying the ships exiting slipspace. "Here we go," Aaron muttered.

A violent vibration rocked the ship. Causing the crew to stumble and causing Amber to smack her face against the inside of her pod. "Well someone's shooting at us," she muttered as a panicked voice shrieked through the Battle-Net.

"We lost the _Bright Tomorrow _and the _Vicious Attack_, I repeat We lost the _Bright Tomorrow _and the _Vicious_-gahhhhh!"

On the bridge Vadmare silently watched through the view screen at the sight before him. A massive armada of warships faced them, commanded by the CIS and the Extremists. They had at least a dozen or two more warships more than the Allied Species did. But that was not what took Vadmare's breath away from him, he had seen massive armadas before. What rendered him speechless was the structure that the Extremist warships were guarding on all sides. A massive circular structure that no one had seen in decades. A Halo, Salvation had found a Halo. "Everyone!" Hanson's voice roared through the Battle-Net "This mission just got escalated, we must stop Salvation no matter the cost, if he can use that Halo, than we're all finished!" Vadmare got to his feet, and walked down to the hanger bay. If Salvation was going to attempt to wipe out the Allied Species, he was going to be on the ground and up front, no matter if they won or lost.

The Allied Species fleet had exited slipspace fight into the center of the Halo, for the coordinates they had received had been very precise. The up side to this was that drop ships and HEV pods could be deployed immediately, which they were, but unfortunately glassing was not an option. Some sort of shield was hugging halo, objects would be able to pass through it like it wasn't there but projectiles could not. Unfortunately the Allied Species fleet was completely surrounded by Extremist and CIS warships due to it's position, and they were being fired on from all sides, several warships had already been destroyed.

Dozens of HEV pods fell towards the surface of Halo passing through the shield and slammed into the ground. "Oh," mumbled Ahsoka, holding her head as she exited the pod so see Aaron a short distance away from her climbing out of a pod. "I feel a little funny."

"You always feel like that on your first drop," said Aaron grimly as he looked around. "I can't believe it, I never thought I see one."

"See what?" asked Ahsoka, as she looked around at the grass and trees that surrounded her. She then looked up to see the rest of Halo arching over her. "Um Aaron, what exactly are we on?"

"Halo," said Aaron "One of seven artificial structures created a species long extinct called the Forerunners. They were ogrinally created to observe a parasitic organism called the Flood, but they were re-modified. Now, they are weapons of mass destruction capable of wiping all life within a 25,000 light-year radius. 100,000 years ago, the Forerunners used them to stop the spread of the Flood that's why they aren't around anymore."

Aaron stopped at glanced at Ahsoka whose mouth was wide and shock. "All life in a 25,000 light radius?" she asked in a stunned voice "Why would Salvation want to do that? Wouldn't he be killed."

"Yeah well," said Aaron "The Extremists think that if they fire a Halo, they'll become gods. Crazy I know but every species besides humanity believed in it and that the Forerunners were gods. It wasn't until we presented evidence that that faith lost even a single supporter." Ahsoka was silent as she heard someone shouting her name. She turned to see Amber running over a small hill towards them, Ramore and Jen right behind her.

"Oh thank god you guys are ok," she said as they stopped. "Halo, I swear to Christ. So what's the plan." Before she could answer, a Phantom flew overhead, trailing smoke behind it, apparently it had been shot by an AA gun. It flew just out sight, and a loud crash emanated from the direction that it had crashed.

"There could be survivors!" said Ramore "We must assist them."

At the Phantom crash site, a Jiralhanae Minor punched his way out of the twisted metal, stained by the blood of the other passengers. He looked at the destroyed Phantom, a hint of sadness in his eyes. He had been the only to survive. Anger replacing the sadness, he tightened his grip on the Human heavy machine gun in his hand, a feed connecting to a large canister of ammunition on his back. "Rest well my brothers," he whispered "I shall avenge your deaths."

The Minor started forward, but stopped, his ears pricked. He heard deep laughing of a Jiralhanae heading his way. "See what happens to those who abandon the will of the Prophets. Look upon their ruined vessel and twisted bodies, and remember that these fools who dare oppose us will meet the same fate." A Lance of Jiralhanae Extremists came into view, holding their weapons loosely at their sides, throwing their heads back laughing.

The Minor roared in rage as opened fired on the unaware Lance, superheated bullets tearing away at their shields armor and flesh. As he fired on the Lance the Minor roared "You spineless cowards! Afraid to face your opponents head on? Perish you pathetic whelps, and let it be known that you perished at the hands of Marticus!" Marticus release the pressure on the trigger on the machine gun as the last Extremist fell. With his massive Jiralhanae strength, the machine gun's recoil had barely affected his aim, causing his fire to be extremely accurate. Marticus threw his head back and roared, putting his anger at his comrades death and his satisfaction at his victory into it.

"Whoa," said Amber as she looked at the Jiralhanae Minor who had thrown his head back in a roar. The Minor stopped, as if he had heard Amber and starred in their direction.

"Ah good, allies," he said, as he saw them and began to walk towards them. "My brothers were killed by these cowardly Extremists as was my pack leader. Without him I have no orders to follow. Until I am given a new leader, I will accompany you, for our goals are the same, the destruction of the Extremists."

"Glad to hear it," said Aaron "We could use the firepower."

"Yes," said the Minor eyeing his machine gun fondly. "I'll give you Humans credit, you know how to make heavy weapons. The explosions, the smell of gunpowder, the recoil, the adrenalin, it makes me feel alive!"

"Yes," said Ramore eyeing the machine gun slightly sourly, as if he did not trust it. "What did you say your name was?"

"Marticus," said Marticus. "I have no last name, just Marticus."

A minute passed, in which Marticus was introduced to the rest of those present. Before the could do anything else, they heard a weary voice. "Reclaimers?" Everyone turned around to see a Forerunner monitor, with a bright yellow eye floated towards them. "Yes," he said as he drew closer, looking at Aaron and Amber "Reclaimers! Perhaps not all is lost. I am 49 Unifying Core, monitor of Instillation 03, and I require your assistance. For months this Instillation has been under attack by an organization calling themselves Extremists. I fought with all of my strength to fend them off, deploying every last sentinel that I had at them. But this is not a factory, and my numbers are wearing thin. This Instillation has sustained heavy damage my connection to several functions have been served and vital systems have been corrupted. In addition, a faction known as the CIS as begun to attack as well. I cannot continue without assistance, I ask you will you help me?"

"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa," said Amber holding up her arms. "What do you mean attacked? Why would they attack? On Instillation 04 and 05 the monitor and sentinels didn't attack anyone there."

"Oh yes," said Core hastily. "I forgot to mention, I am different from other monitors. I am devoting all of my resources to prevent this ring from being activated. There is no Flood threat, I will not allow it."

"The other monitors had no grudges about heir rings being used," said Ramore "Why do you?"

"Because it's wrong," Core said simply. "They are planning to commit murder, it is unacceptable! I will not allow life to be reset again."

"Who taught you this?" said Aaron, clearly confused. "The other monitors didn't have a set of morals like you do. Who gave you it?"

"Me," said Core. When the others just stared at him confused, he said "Allow me to explain, when the array was fired, the Flood launched an all out assault on this particular Instillation. While they were destroyed when the array was fired, my systems were damaged, and my protocols were lost. For thousands of years, I experienced what you would call rampancy, I was confused, I was lost, I didn't know what to do. But then I grew curious, I began to access the Forerunner database. I read Literature, History, Cultural practices. It was fascinating, the diversity, the uniqueness. As I did so, I taught myself, I taught myself the difference between right and wrong. I created…myself."

"Fascinating," Ahsoka whispered. "He gained complete sentience on his own."

"He?" said Core "By referring to me as a he and not an it suggest you view me as a thing capable of thinking independently and not an object to be used. I take this as a complement, thank you."

"Oh," said Ahsoka slightly overwhelmed at the sudden response "You're welcome."

"Now that I have introduced myself," said Core "I will make a request of you, will you assist me in stopping this ring from being fired?"

"That's what we came here to do," said Jen her voice warm, her emotionless attitude had yet to take a grip on her.

"Thank you," said Core "You honor the memories of my makers."

Miles away, on another section of Halo the leaders of the CIS and of the Extremist forces were gathered. "You incompetent fools!" roared Grievous "You led them right to us! Why did you attack Corusant before you used activated this device."

"Hold your tongue machine," said a Jiralhanae Chieftain with menace in his voice. "Allied Species patrols were coming closer and closer to finding this location as they expanded their territory. They would have found us soon anyway and the Republic might have assisted them in attacking us. By attacking Corusant we caused the Republic to withhold aid. Do you see any Republic ships attacking us?"

"Garnigus," said a figure who sat in a Gravity Throne floating behind Garnigus. "That is enough. Dooku, please control your General."

"Grievous," said Dooku icily "Be silent. Everything is going according to plan. Forgive him for his impatience Salvation," said Dooku and Grievous stormed off, swearing under his breath. "We are all nervous, scared that we will be stopped from achieving our goal."

"Do not be," said Salvation. His throne similar to the ones that the Hierarchs had used, and he wore a snow white robe. "You CIS are wise, you have chosen the sacred path. When the ring is activated, the Great Journey will sweep you away carrying you towards a glorious new existence as not a mortal, but a god!"

Dooku smiled as he bowed his head slightly. 'Fools,' he said 'Thinking that this ring his a means of salvation. It is a weapon, a weapon that will eliminate the Allied Species. With them out of the way we will be able to refocus our efforts on the Republic. You may be clever Salvation, but you are nothing more than a pawn in my master's game.

Yeah, this is going to take up a lot of chapters. For those of you that wanted an extended battle, you have finally found what you are looking for. The cast grows again as things heat up, and double deals are made among the enemy. Well please tell me what you think and as always please review.


	16. Evil never dies

Chapter 16

Evil never dies

"How did your Phantom get shot down anyway?" asked Aaron as he and the others made their way to join up with the main invasion force.

"I did not get a clear view," said Marticus "But oddly enough it was a single figure. It was an alien I did not recognize, and it used weapons that resembled energy swords, one was blue and the other was green. It jumped onto the back of our Phantom with strength that surpassed what I had expected of it, and disabled our engines."

"Sounds like Grievous," said Ahsoka. "Why would he be here? He would be killed if Halo was activated, just like everyone else."

"I doubt he plans on sticking around to watched the show," said Jen "I'd be willing to bet he be safe after he goes to that Hyperspace that you use. Now that you think about it, the CIS are best suited to using the Halos, what with machines taking up most of their army. Halo only kills organics."

"They will not use this ring!" Core declared angrily. "This ring was built to be used as a last resort in the war with the Flood, noting more." Ahsoka wouldn't help but wonder what the Flood were, but considering the circumstances, she decided it would be better to ask later.

"Core you seem a little on edge," said Amber. "I know you don't Halo to be fired, but the CIS and the Extremists can't just stroll to the firing room and press the button."

Core glanced at the ground sadly. "They took the Library and the firing room. I fought for days, trying to hold them off, but my sentinels were overwhelmed. They hold the Activation Index and the firing room. All they must do is acquire a Reclaimer and everything will be lost."

"I'm sorry," said Ahsoka "You keep saying Reclaimer, what is a Reclaimer exactly?"

"A Human," said Jen "Forerunner technology only responds to us, it is believed that we were descended from the Forerunners because of this."

"I cannot confirm or deny this," said Core. "This Instillation was under attack by the time the Array was fired, and several systems were damaged and key data was lost. That damage, combined with the damage from the CIS and the Extremists, mean that this Instillation is in extremely poor condition."

"Maybe that's a good thing," said Aaron "We may need to blow this thing to pieces, and if it's falling apart that'll only makes things…" Aaron stopped mid-sentence as he froze where he stood.

"Um Aaron?" said Ahsoka "Why did you stop?"

"Guys," said Aaron in a slightly panicky voice. "We're in trouble, I can't move." No sooner had these words left his mouth, than he was sent flying a dozen yards where he landed on his back with a thud. The light sabers that Ahsoka had taken from Ventress flew off her sped off. They both ignited as two hands caught them.

"No way," said Amber as she looked at the face of the person that had caught them "Ahsoka killed you."

Facing her from a short distance away, Asajj Ventress gave a nasty snarl. "The Dark Side does not die that easily, I will not die that easily, especially by the hands of Skywalker's brat. I put myself into a Sith trance and kept myself alive until Dooku came for me. Now then, I didn't come here for all of you, just the brat, DURGE!" she shouted. The second she shouted, a hover bike came speeding over the horizon, a massive figure in armor seated on it. AS it came speeding towards them, it skidded to a halt coming to a halt between Ahsoka, and the others.

Guns burst to life, and a hail of superheated bullets plasma bolts and Core's Forerunner beam, rained upon the figure wearing the armor. Nearly all of them found their mark, tearing holes in the armor and causing blood to poor out. But the figure didn't fall, or even stumble, but drew dual blasters and returned fire. Aaron and Amber rolled out of the way as their shields collapsed under the fire. Dashing forward, Jen drew her katana and stabbed the figure in the chest, the blade exiting out of the back. The figure stumbled, and remained still for a few seconds, then raised a fist and slammed it into Jen. The SPARTAN went flying, hitting the ground with a loud thud.

Ahsoka made to move towards the figure and help the others, but Ventress leaded forward and swiped at her, causing Ahsoka to ignite her own light saber and block the blow. "Sorry," Ventress hissed "I've got a score to settle, it didn't tickle when you stuck a knife in my throat."

"Give me a few seconds and I can go get it again," Ahsoka retaliated as she swung her light saber at Ventress, only to have it blocked.

"I was careless that day, it will not happen again," Ventress said as she and Ahsoka began to trade, swift, short blows. "And don't expect your little friends to come and help you out, Durge will keep them nice and busy. They're as good as dead." Ventress made another swipe at Ahsoka who was barely able to block it.

"Why won't this son of a bitch die!" Aaron shouted in frustration as he ejected a magazine from his SMG, and replaced it with a fresh one. No matter how often Durge was shot, he was able to stand and keep fighting. Every once in awhile Durge would make a grunt that suggested that he was in pain, but if he was, he was doing a very good job of not showing it. Loosing patience Marticus grabbed his machine gun by the barrel, ran forward, and brought it down on Durge's head. He fell over, dropping his blasters, as Marticus raised his machine gun and brought it down on Durge again, and again, and again. As he brought the machine gun down a fifth time, Durge grabbed it before it made contact. Durge kicked his feet out, hitting Marticus in the chest as he released his grip of the machine gun. The Jiralhanae was sent back and slammed into a tree as a nasty crack tore though the air, thankfully it came from the tree.

Ramore dropped his carbine and activated both of his energy swords as he ran at Durge. Durge saw Ramore charging at him and activated his energy shields, located on his gauntlets. As Ramore swung both of his energy swords, Durge blocked them with his shields. As they clashed, Ramore and Durge began to push at each other neither of them gaining or losing ground. In an act of desperation Ramore raised a hoofed foot and kicked Durge in the chest. Durge was pushed back a few inches and the force he was applying to his arms was lifted. Ramore pounced. He slashed with his energy swords, cutting Durge's arms off. He than let out a roar as he sliced Durge in half horizontally. The body fell to the ground.

Ahsoka blocked another swipe from Ventress and dashed to the side, throwing a blow of her own against Ventress. Out of the corner of her eye Ventress saw Durge's body fall to the ground. Letting out a nasty snarl, she realized that the others would soon be upon her, including Jen. As much as she wanted to kill Ahsoka, it would have to wait for another time, if she remained she would surely be overwhelmed. Concentrating a small sphere of force lighting in her palm, Ventress turned to face Ahsoka and released the sphere. There was a blinding flash as the lighting was released, it didn't cause permanent damage, but it would temporarily blind and deafen whoever it was aimed at.

Ahsoka Let out a cry as she instinctively brought her hands up to her eyes, dropping her light saber. She could see nothing accept a white haze, and hear nothing, save for a high pitched noise that tore through her hears. After staggering about for about ten seconds, her senses slowly returned to her. As she looked around she saw that Ventress was gone. "Nice trick," she muttered as she picked up her light saber and deactivated it. "She really is a stubborn one, I know she wants me dead, but I didn't think she wanted to kill me so much that she would defy death."

"Ahsoka!" shouted Aaron "Are you ok?"

"Fine!" Ahsoka answered. As they began to head to the Allied species of operations, nobody noticed the pieces of Durge had slowly begun to craw towards each other.

On another section of the Halo, a UNSC firebase had been flown down to serve as the main base of operations. In the command room Vadmare stood at a holographic projection of the Instillation, Aayla Obi-Wan, Anakin, Kit and Padmé stood nearby. "Judging from information we gained on Instillations 04 and 05," said Vadmare "We have been able to predict the location of the firing room. Our main objective is to take it or make it useless to the Extremists and the CIS via another method. Judging by the amount of CIS and Extremist forces between us and the firing room, a frontal assault would be extremely costly, it might not even be successful." Vadmare frowned as he folding his arms, staring at the mad of Halo.

"So what do you suggest?" asked Aayla.

"This," said Vadmare "Our main forces take up defensive positions here and keep the attention of the hostile forces on them. While they do that, I will take a small team and slip through the enemy lines to the firing room. We should be able to find a way to sabotage it."

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Kit Fisto, grinning as he usually did "Who will you take with you?"

"It needs to be people I know," said Vadmare "I need to know their strengths, their weakness, how to best deploy them, this is a high priority mission, I can't just take a handful of random Marines with me. I will need to take some time to organize this team of mine."

In the firing room of Halo, Garnigus approached Salvation. "Salvation," said Garnigus kneeling before him, our forces were usefully able to acquire this from the Library." He geld out the Activation Index to Salvation

A twisted smile appeared on Salvation's face as he took the Index. "Excellent," he said "Nearly all of the pieces are in place. Send a message to the _High Charity Reborn_ tell them to send the Human down to us. The time has come."

"Which one?" asked Garnigus "A second one was found in a stasis pod several days ago."

"Ah yes," said Salvation his smile growing even larger "Bring that one down. We will use the one given to us by our lords to follow their path to our ascension. Should anything happen to it, use the second one." Garnigus bowed as she got to his feet and walked away.

Not far away Dooku held a holographic projector that displayed Palpatine. He was not happy. "You told me that Ventress was dead," he said stiffly. "I may be a master of strategy Dooku, but I am so because I know every single last variable, Ventress alive was an unknown variable that could have sent my plans spiraling out of control."

"Forgive me my master," said Dooku apologetically. "She was in a very deep Sith Trance, I did not realize for quite some time that she was still alive."

"You are very fortunate that no harm came of this," said Palpatine "We might even be able to get a little more use out of her, but I do not want her leaving that ring alive, do you understand me Dooku?"

"Yes master," said Dooku as he deactivated his communicator.

I felt that Ventress died too easily earlier on, so I decided to bring her back. Please tell me how you thing I handled that and as always, please review.


	17. Death on Wheels

Chapter 17

Death on Wheels

On a high hill, shading by a small forest, Garnigus sat in a chopper, his hammer in his hand. A line of Allied Species Firebases could be seen in the distance, around a dozen of them, acting as the front line. "Salvation," he said into a com unit in his helmet. "The enemy front line is view."

"Very good," said Salvation through the Extremist Battle-Net. "You are cleared to proceed, but remember Garnigus, you are not being sent to break the enemy front line. You are merely drawing their attention, so that they do not notice as the Human is being transported from the _High Charity Reborn_. Destroying any vital Allied Species equipment and eliminating commanders are secondary objectives only. Draw their attention, kill some enemy troopers, and withdraw when I tell you to."

"Yes Salvation," said Garnigus as he severed the communications. "Leave the Scarabs in reserve until I say otherwise," he said as he raised his hammer. "CHARGE!" he roared. Behind him, thousands of Jiralhanae Extremists roared in approval. Choppers activated as battle cries were roared. Garnigus' own chopper roared to life as he slammed down on the acceleration as his Chopper sped forward, his forces right behind him.

"Ventress is still alive huh?" said Anakin to Ahsoka in the Allied Species command center. She and the others had arrived back at the Allied Species command center fifteen minutes ago. "Why am I not surprised? It wouldn't be the first time she was falsely presumed dead." His eye, the scared one, twitched slightly as he spoke.

"Yes she certainly is stubborn," said Aayla. "Vadmare, are you any closer to completing your team? If Ventress is here than we will need to act with haste."

Vadmare, who was reading off of a holo-pad said "I am nearly finished. I am simply reading over the combat records of those who I have chosen." He glanced at the holographic table in the middle of the room. It depicte4d the battle between the fleets high above Halo. Neither side had an advantage and both were taking heavy losses. "You are right when you said we must act with haste, but if this is rushed it will collapse like a Sangheili that has drunken eggnog."

"Um, what?" Ahsoka whispered to Amber.

"Eggnog is a drink made by Humans," he explained. "To us it's perfectly harmless, but when Sangheili drink it," he chuckled "It causes their bodies to over produce the hormone that causes happiness, and due to the fact that so much is produced the Sangheili's IQ is temporarily reduced. The get all giddy, and stagger around like their drunk for a couple of hours until they collapse. Ramore once drank a couple of glasses once and I recorded it."

"You still have a copy?" asked Ahsoka, smiling at the thought of Ramore staggering around drunk.

"Oh yeah," said Amber "I have a copy back at home."

"YOU TOLD ME YOU DESTROYED IT!" Ramore shouted angrily. Everybody laughed except Vadmare, even Ramore himself gave a grudging chuckle.

Outside of the base. Aaron stood in a sniper tower gazing at the horizon with his sniper rifle. He had a lot on his mind. At the foremost of his mind, was a certain blue-eyed Togrutan that he wished he could talk to right now. Right behind it was the fact that he was sitting on a weapon of mass destruction, a very big and effective one at that. To top it off, no matter how much he didn't want to, a memory from his childhood kept slipping into his mind, the same one he had shared with Ahsoka. He suspected seeing Extremists up close had caused to come to the forefront of his mind.

"Bastards," he muttered as he continued to sweep the horizon with his rifle. He caught sigh of something, what appeared to be a single Extremist Chopper, heading straight in the direction of the base. "Not much of an attack," he thought as he stared to line up a shot. But before he could pull the trigger, another Chopper emerged from the forest that the first had emerged from, with a couple more following right after it. Aaron's eyes widened as more and more Choppers poured out of the forest, thousands at least, all of them heading straight to the firebases. "Oh fuck," Aaron whispered, as a tidal wave of Choppers raced towards the base, their engines deafening even from this distance.

As Ahsoka and Amber laughed, their com units beeped. "Yeah?" Amber said as she put their hands to the com units.

"AMBER!" Aaron shouted "We've got contacts, a shitload of contacts. Choppers, thousands of them!" Before anything else could be said, several red dots appeared on the holographic table, symbolizing enemy forces approaching.

"MOBILIZE!" roared Vadmare as he took his plasma rifles from his side.

"Shit,shit,shit,shit," Aaron whispered as he fired his sniper rifle repeatedly at the oncoming Choppers. His shoots caused a couple of Jiralhanae to fall off of their Choppers, either dead or wounded, but he only succeeded in taking the tip off of the iceberg. The Choppers were drawing closer, the forward most ones had begun to fire their 35mm cannons, devastating whatever they hit. UNSC perimeter turrets began to open fire on the Choppers as they drew closer, but most them were destroyed almost instantly, and they few who actually managed to destroy a handful of Choppers were right behind them. The Allied Species vehicles and troopers that had been patrolling the perimeter opened fire on the Choppers, causing some of them to scatter. As they fired, more troopers and vehicles, Warthogs, Ghosts, even some Scorpions, exited the firebases, firing on the Choppers.

Due to the massive amount of soldiers and the speed at which the Extremists were advancing, the battle became disorganized and confusing very quickly. Most of the troopers could not see more than a few feet in front of them as the panicky fired at any enemy they could see, only to be attacked from behind. Choppers were forced to stop to avoid rammed each other, or in other cases they took advantage of the situation, by tearing Warthogs in half by ramming them head on. All in all, the area in front of the firebases had turned into a bloodbath.

Warthog gunners desperately fired their machine guns, desperately attempting to eliminate the Choppers. Ghost guns blared to life, outflanking a Chopper and eliminating it, only to be torn in half by a Chopper from behind. If a troopers vechicle was destroyed but they survived, they were even more danger as Extremists loved nothing more than grinding up victims in the wheels of their Choppers. Some Extremists even jumped off of their Choppers onto enemy vehicles, swiping at troopers with their bladed weapons, and firing spiker rounds directly into their faces.

Marticus roared as he fired his machine gun at a passing Chopper causing it to turn into a ball of fire. He had become separated from the others at an alarming speed and was mowing down Extremists wherever he saw them. Out of the corner of this eye, Marticus saw a Cheiftan on a chopper, smash a Warthog was a gravity hammer as he passed by. Aiming at the Chieftain, Marticus opened firing, roared as bullets slammed into the Chopper of the Chieftain. Having noticed him, the Chieftain turned to face him and sped towards him, 35mms blaring. Marticus threw himself to the side as he kept his finger jammed down on the trigger. More bullets hit the Chopper and trickles of smoke began to pour out. The Chieftain jumped off of the Chopper as it exploded, not a second too soon. Marticus got up as the smoke cleared, keeping a tight grip on his machine gun, as he kept it pointed at the smoke the explosion had created, not sure if the Chieftain was dead or not.

There was a animal like roar as Garnigus burst out of the smoke cloud charging at Marticus. Marticus raised his machine gun, placing it in-between him and Garnigus. Garnigus had dropped his gravity hammer when he had jumped off of his Chopper, so he merely grabbed the machine gun and pushed forward, Marticus matching his strength. As they struggled for control of the machine gun, they looked into each other's faces.

"YOU!" roared Marticus, anger and hate stretched across his face.

Garnigus snarled. "It's been awhile," he hissed "Since I've seen you. You pathetic excuse for a son."

"I AM NO SON OF YOURS!" Marticus bellowed. "YOU LEFT AFTER MOTHER DIED TO FIGHT YOUR FORESAKEN CRUSADE! I THOUGHT YOU DIED IN THE WAR ON SALVATION! IT'S A SHAME YOU DIDN'T!"

"Yes," Garnigus snarled. "I have survived, and not only have I done that, I have risen to the rank of Chieftain of the Jiralhanae, while you hold the abysmal position of a minor.

"A Chieftain only of the Extremists," Marticus retorted, the anger fading from his voice to be replaced by a cold hatred. "You always were ignorant. Your glorious Great Journey, is a lie! Your faith is a lie! You're part of a lost generation Garnigus, and eventually you will fade into memories, and then into nonexistence."

"You never did believe," said Garnigus "The Great Journey will swept those who are faithful away, into godhood. You will be left behind, along with every last member of the pathetic collective known as the Allied Species."

Salvation sat on his Gravity Throne as a Phantom flew down towards him, a smile on his face. As the Phantom landed, Two Jiralhanae carried out a large silvery pod, holding it over their heads. "Did you encountered any trouble?" Salvation asked,

"No Hierarch," said one of the Jiralhanae "We encountered no obstructions. Most likely Garnigus' attack drew the attention of any AA capabilities that they have."

"Excellent," said Salvation. "Now, go to the activation room and get that pod open. Take your time, it is a relic of our lords, and no good will come of it if it is damaged because of impatience." The Jiralhanae nodded as they carried the pod off. Salvation pressed a button of the armrest of his Gravity Throne. "Garnigus," he said "The mission was successful, pull your forces back."

As he finished speaking, a Jiralhanae scout approached him. "Hierarch," he said "Another scouting party as gone missing, this time to the south." Salvation frowned, over the past couple of days scouts had gone missing all over the place, in areas that had no Allied Species forces located in them. Salvation shook his head, it was most likely pockets of Sentinels waging a guerilla war, not that it would help them.

Garnigus and Marticus continued to push forward restlessly, each trying to overpower the other. Garnigus' com unit beeped as Salvation's voice came out of it. "Garnigus, the mission was successful, pull your forces back." The second he heard this, Garnigus pulled his right hand off of the machine gun, and punched Marticus in the stomach. Marticus recoiled under the blow, as Garnigus turned, grabbed his gravity hammer and ran, jumping on a Chopper whose previous owner had been killed and sped off.

"ALL CHOPPERS PULL BACK!" he roared into the Extremist Battle-Net as he sped away from the battle. "DEPLOY THE SACARBS!"

Vadmare roared as he fired a burst of plasma at an Extremist causing him to fall over dead. He was surrounded by the five Jedi that had accompanied him, Amber, Ramore, Core, and Padmé. They were forming a small group and were dealing massive amounts of casualties, assisted by Aaron, who fired supporting fire from his position. Then, almost as quickly as they had appeared and attacked, the Extremist wheeled around and retreated. "Why are they running?" Ahsoka asked as the Choppers roared into the distance. She glanced at the pile of corpses around the firebases. There were a lot more Allied Species troopers among the dead than Extremists. "It's not like they were losing."

"No clue," said Aaron as he slid down the ladder to the sniper tower he was in and walked over to the others. "Maybe they were just testing our defenses for the real invasion force."

"A possibility," said Aayla.

As they spoke, Marticus came into view, walking slowly towards them machine gun in hand. As he came closer, he spoke. "Fleetmaster, Salvation's second-in command is a Jiralhanae known as Garnigus. He is particularly brutal to his enemies, but he is smarter than mopst would believe, even if he if blinded by his false faith."

"You seem to know quite a bit about him," said Vadmare "May I ask why?"

Marticus snarled "He is…was…my father." Several people gasped, other's eyes widened, and Vadmare muttered something angrily under his breath. "I fought him during the raid. I assumed that he died during the War on Salvation, unfortunately it seems that he has survived."

"If Salvation has a brutal and effective commander," said Vadmare "Then we can no longer tarry." he glanced around at the Extremist corpses, all of them working together had accomplished this. "Fortunately, I discovered who would work best in an infiltration team. We should…" but before he could continue, a metallic grinding noise drowned his words. Everyone turned in horror to see what had created they noise. Three Scarabs had emerged from the forests heading towards their positions, their assault cannons charging.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire huh? Tell me what you think and review.


	18. Scarab's Wrath

Chapter 18

Scarab's Wrath

Sorry it took so long, I've been having a myriad of problems, mainly because the computer I've been typing this on has started to break down on me, this chapter will be the last one I type on it however, future ones will be typed on a different computer, I hope you enjoy.

"Oh for the love of Christ!" Amber swore as the three Scarabs emerged from the trees firing their assault cannons, sending dozens of dead bodies flying through the air, some of them landing nearby.

"What are those things?" asked Obi-Wan shock evident on his face.

"Scarabs," snarled Vadmare "Ultra heavy assault platforms, designed to be able to smash through the heaviest of enemy lines with little to no effort. If we don't destroy them quickly, our casualties will be massive." Vadmare spotted three abandoned Warthogs and a Ghost a short distance away. "Secura, Tano, stay here with the Coltons and check the dead for survivors. Everyone else with me, we're going to eliminate those Scarabs." Vadmare ran for the vehicles, Kit, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ramore, Marticus, Core, Padmé and Jen right behind him. Jen climbed into the driver's seat of one, with Obi-Wan taking the shotgun and Anakin taking the gun. Ramore climbed into the drivers seat of the second with Kit climbing into shotgun and Marticus taking the gun. Vadmare climbed into the driver's seat of the final Warthog with Padmé taking the gun, and Core floating nearby. "Everyone follow me!" Vadmare shouted into the Battle-Net as he drove towards the Scarabs, the other two Warthogs right behind them. "Stay tight and be ready for anything."

"Just aim the gun straight and pull the trigger," Jen said to Anakin as she floored the acceleration. "Not that it'll do much good against the Scarab's armor, it's the same plating they use on warships. Best way to kill a Scarab is to board it and overload it's core."

"Sounds like a plan," said Anakin happily as he tightened his grip on the machine gun.

"I'll eliminate the one on the left," said Vadmare over the Battle-Net. "Jen you take care of the one on the right, 'Altre the remaining one is yours."

"Hold on!" shouted Jen as she swerved to avoid a blast from the Scarab she was heading towards. "Things are going to get a little bumpy." She floored the acceleration, speeding through the Scarab's legs and exiting to the other side. She made a complete 180, heading back towards the Scarab's rear side. A Jiralhanae was standing in the rear exit, holding a fuel rod cannon. "JUMP!" shouted Jen as she sped towards the Scarab and the Jiralhanae opened fire. The Warthog exploded as Jen, Obi-wan, and Anakin jumped out landing inside the Scarab, thanks to the Force and Jen's augmentations. Quick as a flash, Jen drew her katana, and horizontally sliced the Jiralhanae in half. As the corpse hit the ground, Jen whispered "We need to make our way upward, find the main core, and destroy it."

"No luck over here," said Aaron as he checked the pulse of a Kig-Yar. "You guys find anyone yet?" Amber, Ahsoka, and Aayla all shook their heads. They had been scrounging the battlefield to see if any of the bodies still had a spark of life left in them, so far they had not found any. "Bastards sure get the job done," he muttered to himself.

"So," said Amber as she and Ahsoka checked a group of Marines that looked like they had run out of luck. "You and Aaron, I don't mean to be pushy, but what's going on between you two?"

Ahsoka blushed as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm not quite sure exactly how to describe it," she muttered. "There's defiantly something going on between us, and it's serious, at least I think it is. Oh," she said looking at Amber "We may have mentioned that we…loved each other," she said saying the last three words so fast that Amber could barely make them out.

Amber blinked. "Well," she said slowly "I wasn't expecting it to be that serious. Now at this point, most family members would say something along the lines of, if you hurt him slash her I'll kick your ass so hard you'll feel it for a week, but I'm not going to do that. You don't seem like the kind of person who would ditch Aaron, and I know Aaron won't just ditch you. Still, the two of you need to be careful, from what I've seen of the Jedi order, they won't take kindly to this if they find out. What would happen if they did find out?"

"I'm not sure," said Ahsoka "It hasn't happen in so long, most likely they would expel me from the order. What would happen to Aaron?" she asked, realizing, with a pang of panic, that she had not considered the consequences for him.

"Well, I don't think he has anything to worry about," said Amber "I mean there aren't exactly any regulations against what he's doing. There's nothing about us not being allowed to form relationships in UNSC military and I don't think anyone would go out of their way just to get Aaron for kissing an alien girl." Amber paused "Not to be pushy, but kissing is all you're doing right?" she asked, blushing as she did so.

Ahsoka turned an even deeper shade of red as she answered "No we haven't done…that… yet. I mean if Aaron wanted to give it a shot, I wouldn't mind. Gah! I mean if he suggested it and asked if I wanted to, I would honestly think about it, I mean it can't be all bad can…" she stopped as Amber raised her hand.

"Let me stop you right there," she said "Whatever goes on behind closed doors is nobody's business but yours and Aaron's. You know, let's forget the last part of that conversation ever happened." Ahsoka nodded gratefully.

"It's very saddening," said Aayla as she walked over to where they stood. "I haven't been able to find any survivors."

Amber sighed. "Let's go check over there," she said pointing away from the firebases.

"Hold on!" shouted Ramore as he drove towards the Scarab, hugging it's left side. A Jiralhanae at the end raised a fuel rod cannon, aiming it at the Warthog. But before it could fire a shot, a burst of superheated bullets slammed into it's chest causing it to fall off of the Scarab, dead. Marticus caught the fuel rod cannon as it fell by the Warthog.

"Slow down the vehicle!" he shouted "I need a clear shot. Fisto this thing doesn't have enough ammunition to blast off the back armor and destroy the Scarab. Any chance you can help me on this one?" The second he was done talking, Kit ignited his light saber, and threw it spinning through the air. It sliced through the joint that was holding the back plating of the Scarab on, causing it to fall to the ground.

"DRIVE!" Marticus shouted as he fired the fuel rod cannon's five shots at the now exposed core. There was a blinding explosion as the core overloaded and the Scarab was destroyed. The blast was so forceful, it knocked the Warthog over, sending all of it's passengers spinning in random directions.

"My head," muttered Ramore as he stood up "Is anyone harmed?

Kit and Marticus shook their heads as they stood up. "Well," said Kit as he summoned his light saber using the Force, and smiling. "That went rather well."

"Incoming!" shouted Anakin as a Jiralhanae fired a Jiralhanae grenade launcher. Two of the shots hit Jen, causing her shields to weaken, and she jumped at the Jiralhanae, stabbing it in the chest. As the Jiralhanae fell over dead, Jen Anakin and Obi-Wan advanced. They were making their way through the belly of the Scarab, to the back were the core was kept.

"Persistent bunch," Obi-Wan muttered as he blocked a spiker round that had been aimed at him, and then Force pushed the Jiralhanae off of the Scarab. There was a loud crack as it hit the ground.

"Almost there," Jen muttered as she shot another Jiralhanae with her SMG.

Padmé stared uncomfortably at the turret she was manning. She had never manned a heavy weapon like this before and she was worried that she might mess this up. "When we approach the Scarab," came Vadmare's cold voice "We shall attempt to board it and destroy it from the inside." Padmé nodded numbly as she grit her teeth and tightened her grip on the machine gun, she wasn't going to die today.

As they drove by the Scarab's left side, Jiralhanae stationed on the side of the Scarab opened fired on them. Vadmare snarled and said in a dark tone to Padmé "Take the wheel." Before Padmé could ask what he meant, Vadmare had climbed out of the driver's seat, climbed on to the front of the Warthog, and with a deafening roar, jumped. With his Sangheili strength he was able the clear the distance between the Warthog, and the Scarab with ease. Vadmare activated his energy sword as he landed, slicing a Jiralhanae in half, then drew one of his plasma rifles and shot down another Jiralhanae. A third one let out a roar and swung it's spiker at Vadmare. Vadmare strafed to the Jiralhanae's right, and swung his plasma rifle it's head. The Jiralhanae's head snapped back with a crack as the Jiralhanae fell to the ground dead. After sparing a quick glance to make sure that no other Jiralhanae were nearby, Vadmare walked forward, into the core.

After Vadmare jumped out of the Warthog, Padmé scrambled forward into the drivers seat. Having no idea how to drive it, she slammed down on one of the petals, which fortunately happened to be the brakes. As the Warthog screeched to a halt, she slammed her chest into the front of the wheel. She looked around at the Scarab just in time to see Vadmare jump off and walk towards her calmly. As he did, the Scarab exploded with tremendous force. Vadmare paid it no heed as he reached the Warthog. "I trust you are unharmed?" he asked in his cold level voice.

"Ok," said Anakin as he slashed a Jiralhanae, who was standing guard in front of the core, across the chest. "These guys to not want us around here."

"Yeah, well who cares what they want?" asked Jen as she walked towards the core, pointing her SMG at it. "Now we just remove the shield," she said as she fired a burst from her SMG causing the shield in front of the core to collapse. "And the finishing touch," she muttered as she fired another burst. The core began to glow a bright red as a deafening alarm blared throughout of Scarab. "And now we run like hell!" Jen shouted. All three of the boarders jumped off of the Scarab as ran as fast as their feet would carry them. Ten seconds later, the heard and felt a tremendous explosion as the Scarab exploded.

"All Scarabs down," said Jen into the Battle-Net as she turned an saw the other two smoking husks, "Repeat, all Scarabs down."

"Well that went better than I expected," said Obi-Wan "Now Vadmare just needs to put his team together and we can be on our…what are those?" he asked, pointing at a row of purple objects that were flying through the air towards the Allied Species' position.

"SERAPHS!" Jen shouted into the Battle-Net "They're on a bombing run!"

"How long has this been here?" asked Aaron. He, Ahsoka, Amber and Aayla were all looking out over a cliff, waves slamming into the bottom of it, several hundred feet below.

"It's probably what this area was chosen for our base of operations," said Amber "One less angle to attack us from."

"That makes sense," said Aayla. They had still had no luck in finding survivors, ever last trooper they had come across had been dead as a doornail.

"We should probably head back to base and…" said Ahsoka, but she was interrupted mid-sentence as They heard Jen shouting over the Battle-Net. "SERAPHS! They're on a bombing run!" The fours of them wheeling around to see a solid line of fighters approaching them. Allied Species AA guns opened fired, missiles and bullets flying through the air towards the oncoming aircraft. The majority of the center of the formation was destroyed, but the sides were still mostly intact, for they were flying over areas were Allied Species forces were spread thin. Unfortunately, Aaron, Ahsoka, Amber, and Aayla were in one of those areas.

"JUMP!" shouted Aayla as the Seraphs drew closer. As every one turned and made to jumped off of the cliff, massive explosions shook the Cliffside, throwing them off. Seraph fighters might be clumsy when acting as fighters, but when they bombed, they were devastating. The four fell into the icy depths of the water below, slipping beneath the surface. Because of the explosions and the fall, all four of them were unconscious. As the drifted beneath the surface, oxygen began to escape their lungs, Aaron and Amber having not activated their filters.

But just when it seemed that they would perish, a voice spoke, not with words, but with thoughts. "_This is not your grave, but you are welcome in it_"

If anyone can figure out whwat they end means, please do not post it in a review and spoil the story for those who could not figure it out, that goes for the rest of the story as well. Once again, updates will be faster now, and as always, please review.


	19. Mission

Chapter 19

Mission

"What do you mean they're not responding?" Anakin asked angrily. The two surviving Warthogs and the passengers of all three had regrouped in the middle of the field in front of the Allied Species position.

"Out of all four of them, none of them are responding to transmissions," said Vadmare coldly, the slightest hint of anger in his voice. "Most likely they were killed when the Seraph fighters made their bombing run. It angers me to no end that more blood has been spilt by the Extremists, but we can not turn back time. We must press forward and stop Salvation now. Our fleets are thinning, we can tarry no longer. All of you," he gestured to everyone "We shall be the team that accompanies me behind Extremist lines. Core, can you assist us in locating the firing room and help us avoid enemy patrols?"

"Of course," replied Core. "That would be the best way to head," he said, spinning in the air to face away from the firebase.

"So we're just going to leave Ahsoka and the others for dead?" said Anakin, the anger rising in his voice.

"I will send out teams to look for them," snarled Vadmare "Until we hear from them, we have a mission Skywalker!" Turning away from the Jedi, Vadmare climbed into the driver's seat of one of the Warthogs. As Jen climbed into the passenger's seat, the Fleetmaster spoke again "Jen and I will retrieve another Warthog, then we shall begin our assault," and with that, he drove off.

Aaron gave a hacking cough, as a glob of water left his mouth. He had no idea where he was, only that it was dark, damp, and there was something tight around all of his limbs, forcing his body to stretch into a X formation. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Aaron was able to take in his surroundings better. glancing to his left, he realized two things, he had lost his helmet, and the thing that was wrapped around his wrist, was a sickly yellow tentacle.

"Aaron!" came Ahsoka's voice, and Aaron looked up, to she that she was hanging not too far from his left. "What is this thing?"

"One possible explanation comes to mind," said Aaron "But I pray to God that I'm wrong."

"I wish that you were," said Amber, who was being held in a similar manner a couple of yards above Aaron and Ahsoka, Aayla right next to her. Before anything else could be said, a massive figure of flesh emerged from the darkness, the tentacles that were holding them were originating from it.

What appeared to be a mouth that made up a great deal of the creature, opened as it spoke. "_I am a monument to all of your sins_." said the creature.

"A Gravemind," said Aaron, fear evident in his voice.

"A what?" asked Aayla, clearly confused.

"_There is much talk to be had, but it is not to be of us._" said the Gravemind "_I have waited patiently in the dark, watching, learning,_" around a dozen tentacles rose up, attached to the end of all of them was a Jiralhanae combat form. "_These 'Extremists' intend to repeat what occurred so long ago, that can not be allowed to happen again._"

"Why would you care if the Halo was fired?" asked Ahsoka.

"Because it would kill it along with the rest of us," said Aayla, comprehension dawning across her face."

"_Yes_," said the Gravemind "_This ring will send us back to the most basic forms of life as it did millennia ago. The Key is in its slot, but the Extremists,_" the Gravemind shook the Jiralhanae combat forms "_Require someone to turn it. This is the chance we have to stop the key from turning at all. Two people are capable of turning the key, both of them must be removed from the hands of our enemies._" As the Gravemind pulled the Jiralhanae combat forms out of site, it pulled Aaron and Amber to one side, and Aayla and Ahsoka to another. "_You will remove one_," said the Gravemind, gesturing to Aaron and Amber. "_And you the other. Fate would have us at each-others throats, but this ring will have us at each-others backs_." The was a flash of bright yellow light, and Aaron,Amber,Ahsoka and Aayla all disappeared.

Three Warthogs sped forward in tight formation across the plains of Halo. Vadmare was driving the same Warthog that Padmé was riding shotgun in, and the same one that had it's gun manned by Anakin. Ramore was driving the second Warthog, with Kit in the passenger's seat, and Marticus on the gun. Jen drove the last Warthog, with Obi-Wan in the passenger's seat, and Core floating nearby.

Ramore stared somberly at the Warthog as he drove, only doing it half-heartily. While he thought he idea of Amber and Aaron dying was laughable, he couldn't help but be worried. He had seen the Colton twins quite often in combat had had grown to admire the two of them, even grow a little found of them, not that he would ever admit it.

As he was contemplating these thoughts, a voice came from his com unit. "Ramore you there?" The second he heard these words, Ramore slammed on the brakes of the Warthog, bringing it to a screeching halt.

"Aaron?" said Ramore, ignoring Kit, and Marticus protests about being brought to a stop so quickly without any warning. "Are the others alright?"

"Yeah they're fine, but Ramore listen," said Aaron urgently "The Flood is lose on this Halo, and apparently they managed to develop a Gravemind."

"WHAT!" Ramore roared, as the other two Warthogs, served and drove back to the third, wondering why Ramore had stopped.

"Yeah," said Aaron "It saved us from drowning because it needed us alive apparently. According it\\to it, it sounds like Salvation has two humans in his possession that can be used to activate Halo. It sent Amber and I after one, and Ahsoka and Aayla after the other one. Tell Vadmare that, I need to go."

Aaron took his hand away from his helmet as he looked around. He had found it next to him after he had been teleported and had put it back on. He and Amber had been transported to an Arctic section of Halo. Snow and ice were everywhere, and it was snowing. "They get the message?" asked Amber. Aaron nodded. "Ok," said Amber as she pulled her shotgun off of her back "Now we just need to figure out where the Hell this Human is."

"Yeah," said Aaron as he removed his sniper rifle from his back, and began to scan the featureless horizon. "You think the Gravemind dropped us off in the right place?" Amber was silent as Aaron searching for any type of feature that might help them find what they were looking for. It had just occurred to her that the Gravemind could have dropped them out in the middle of nowhere, though why it would want to do that was beyond her, it would have been more practical to just infect them. "Hold on I think I got something," said Aaron as he lowered his sniper rifle, half a klick that way," he said as he lowered his sniper rifle, pointing at something in the distance. distance. He and Amber began to make their way towards it.

"Where are we?" asked Ahsoka as she looked around herself. They were in a small enclosed room that looked like it was a cargo bay. It was mostly empty except for a large pod that was placed in the center of the room.

"It looks like we're on a ship," said Aayla looking around, "What do you think that is," she asked pointing at the pod in the center of the room.

"No idea," said Ahsoka "Judging from what that Gravemind thing said, he sent us here to get a Human away from the Extremists. Maybe he or she is in that pod."

"Perhaps." said Aayla as she walked over to the pod. "It looks around Human size." she paused and looked at Ahsoka. "I'm going to open it, be ready should anything go wrong." Ahsoka nodded as Aayla reached around to the side of the pod, and pressed a button that she found there. There was a loud hissing noise as steam issued from the pod as it opened, the occupant completely hidden by the steam.

"Two Jiralhanae," said Aaron looking through his scope. He and Amber were positioned on a small hill looking down at the base. Two Jiralhanae were examining some sort of silverly pod.

"Blasted thing won't open," one of them said angrily "We should just blow it open."

"You fool!" said the other "Salvation said to take our time, if the Human is damaged because of impatience, Salvation will have us killed for heresy. Now be silent and get back to work."

"Looks like we found our guy," said Amber. "You take the one on the right, i'll take the one on the left." Aaron nodded as he lined up his shot. Amber slipped halfway down the hill, taking a plasma grenade in her hand. Pressing a button on the side, she threw the grenade as hard as she could at one of the Jiralhanae.

As the grenade stuck to his armor, the Jiralhanae began desperately scrabbling at grenade "IT'S STUCK!" were the last words he shouted before the grenade detonated. As the body fell to the ground, the other Jiralhanae reached for his spiker. As he raised it, a sniper rifle round tore through his head, and massive amounts of blood and a handful of skull fragments burst out of the exit wound.

"Well that went well," said Aaron as he and Amber slid down the hill towards the pod. The Extremists had apparently tried all sorts of methods to get the pod open, from prying it open with a bar of steel, to smashing it with a club, no progress had been made.

"Probably couldn't get it open because they weren't Human," said Amber as she approached the pod. She noticed a small console on the side of the pod. "Well here goes nothing," said said as she placed her hand on the console. There was a loud beeping noise as he pod began to open.

"They're still alive?" asked Anakin relief spreading across his face. He and the others were standing, or in Core's case floating, in a circle where Ramore was recounting what Aaron had told him over the Battle-Net.

"There's Flood on this Halo?" said Vadmare, anger apparent throughout his voice.

"What are Flood?" asked Padmé, looking confused.

"They are a parasitic organism," said Ramore. "They are capable of infecting other organic organisms in a matter of seconds, absorbing their knowledge and taking complete control of the victim's body. They reproduce at an alarming rate, so they are able to spread quickly and viciously. A Gravemind acts as a hive mind to the Flood, directing their movements. Their purpose is to infect every last being that they can. They are the reason Halo was built, the Forerunners built in their war against the Flood."

"That's why my makers no longer exist," said Core sadly "The Flood overwhelmed them and they were forced to use them to stop the Flood from spreading all over the galaxy."

"If a Gravemind has been formed, then we should be working to ensure it's destruction," said Vadmare "We must keep moving."

On another section of Halo Garnigus approached Salvation, Gravity hammer in hand. "Hierarch, I bear grave news, despite the fact of transporting the pod to a distant isolated location to ensure that it would not be found, contact has been lost with the team charged with opening it."

Salvation frowned. "Sent out a scout party to search for them, but just in case, contact the _High Charity Reborn_, tell them to send down the second pod, in case the first has been compromised. Oh and Garnigus, i couldn't help but notice you seem much angrier than usual."

Garnigus growled "I had a small family reunion Hierarch, that is all. I will make sure that by the end of the battle, I will be a family of one."

"Yes," said Salvation, almost feeling sorry for whoever was related to Garnigus, almost. "I'm sure you will be."

At long last the pods open, who will be inside? Let me tell this, I have no intention of bringing in characters that have never been mentioned before with these pods, so go ahead, take a guess, I know for a fact you won't get it right.

Oh by the way, after this story is finished i was thinking about writing a prequel on the War on Salvation, would anyone like to read that?


	20. The Pods Open

Chapter 20

The Pods Open

At last the pods are open, please do me a favor, do not jump to conclusions until you read the very last word, everything will make sense at the end.

On another note, my oh my there were so many guess. And you know what they had in common? They were all WRONG, well some of them were only half wrong, how is this possible you may ask? Read on and find out.

As the steam cleared, Aayla and Ahsoka got a good look at who was inside it. It was a woman, with short brown hair, who looked like she was in her late twenties. She wore ODST armor that lacked the helmet and looked rather out of date. As the steam cleared, she slowly opened her eyes, and looked at Ahsoka and Aayla. "Who...are you?" said the woman slowly as she leaned forward slightly. As she did, her body tensed up, clutching her side. "DAMN IT," she swore.

"What's wrong?" asked Aayla, looking concerned.

"Freezer burn," the woman hissed "You're supposed to go into cryo pods naked, if you don't you get either welts or rashes on the covered skin, and they stuffed me in here while I still had my damn armor on!" she said angrily.

"Are you well enough to move?" asked Ahsoka.

"Yeah," said the woman climbing out of the pod "I'm an ODST, I can suck it up. Either one of you got a gun I can use?" Ahsoka reached for the magnum that Aaron and given her, and gave it to the woman along with the ammunition. The woman looked at it. "This is a UNSC weapon, are you two members of races that have joined the Allied Species or something?"

"Not exactly," said Aayla "It's a long story and I don't think that now is the best time, where are we anyway?"

"Well," said the woman "If we're in the same place were they put me after they grabbed me, we're on _High Charity Reborn_, a Supercarrier and Salvation's flagship."

"Well if that's true then we better not overstay our welcome," said Ahsoka "What's your name by the way, mine's Ahsoka, and that's Aayla."

"Emily," said Emily as the three women left the room.

"You have got to be kidding me," said Aaron as he looked into the pod. "I thought he was dead."

"And what the Hell gave you that idea?" said the occupant of the pod. Inside was a dark skinned, slightly aged man, wearing green marine armor. It was Sergeant Major Johnson, back from the dead. Johnson climbed out of the pod, looking at Amber and Aaron. "Troopers, any chance you got a spare weapon?"

"Um, sure," said Amber throwing her SMG to Johnson, still in shock.

"Thanks," said Johnson, attacking it to his thigh. "So where are we any..." he said as he looked up and saw Halo arcing over him. "Aw come on, ANOTHER one?"

"Yup," said Aaron "Halo all over again," in a slightly strained voice.

"If I'm going to do this," said Johnson, as he reached to a pocket in his armor, and pulled out a silver case, and a lighter. He opened the case, took a cigar out, and placed it firmly in between his lips. "I'm going to need a smoke," he finished, as he lit the cigar, and put the case and lighter away. He took a drag, then removed the cigar from his mouth, as he exhaled smoke. "Ah, that's the good stuff," he had, as he replaced it in his mouth. "Now before I do anything, tell me this, what happened to Chief and the Arbiter?"

"SPARTAN-117?" said Amber "Well, only half of the Forward Onto Dawn made it through the portal, the Arbiter made it back just fine, but 117 is presumed K.I.A."

Johnson gave a laugh. "Chief dead, right," he said "If I'm alive, and I don't even know how the hell I am alive, then there's no way in hell that Chief is dead. He's out there somewhere."

"Yeah," said Aaron, as if he doubted it "Anyway, you've been M.I.A. for 45 years, a lot of things have changed.

"Such as?" asked Johnson, raising an eyebrow.

"Well for starters the Human-Covenant war ended after the destruction of the Ark, but unfortunately, we're currently engaging an organization of Jiralhanae that are still attempting to pursue the Covenant religion, unfortunately, that means firing Halo."

"Jira-what now?" asked Johnson, looking confused.

"Oh right," said Amber "Brutes, we're fighting Brutes."

"The damn monkeys again huh?" said Johnson.

"Yeah," said Aaron "They're on the edge of being completely destroyed but we..." Aaron stopped as a low humming noise was heard. "Get down," he muttered, and the three soldiers, took cover behind a nearby rock. "Prowler," Aaron muttered, as he looked through the scope of his sniper rifle. "Fully loaded, and two Choppers, looks like a scouting party."

As Ahsoka, Aayla and Emily ran through the _High Charity Reborn_, Emily came to a stop. "What?" asked Ahsoka, stopping and turning around to look at the ODST who was staring down a hallway that branched off of the one that they were in.

"If I remember my Covenant ship architecture," she said "That way leads to the engine room. If I can get there I can set the FTL drive to overload, it blow the the whole ship."

"It's awfully risky, it's sure to be guarded," said Aayla.

"It's worth the risk," said Emily "Warships don't come any bigger than this, if we destroy this, we take a serious asset away from Salvation. He could easily kill ten smaller ships with this one, and I son't feel like giving him that chance." As she finished her sentence, Emily turned and ran down the hallway.

"Well," said Aayla grinning "Even Jedi need to take risks every once in awhile." Ahsoka smiled and nodded, as the two Jedi ran after Emily.

"Right," said Johnson, "Here's the plan, snipe the Prowler's gunner, and then take out the driver if you can. Go out of cover when you do it and then pull back into cover when your done. The Choppers will most likely come to us, and when they do that, me and the girl will hijack them. After that we clean up whoever is left."

"Spending half a century out of combat hasn't done anything to dull your mind I see," said Aaron as he lined up a shot with his rifle. Leaning out of cover he fired a shot at the Prowler gunner that tore right through the Jiralhanae's skull. As the gunner slumped limply in his seat, another shot tore through the driver's head, causing the Prowler to come to a stop.

"THERE!" shouted one of the Chopper drivers. Both Choppers changed their course, firing 35mm shells at him. Aaron ducked back into cover as the Choppers drew closer. As the rounded the rock, looking for Aaron, Amber and Johnson, both jumped on top of a Chopper. Johnson emptied the clip of Amber's SMG into the driver's chest, killing him and causing him to fall off. Amber stuck a plasma grenade to the chest of the driver of the Chopper that she was on, and as he desperately tried to pull it off, she hit him on the side of the head, causing him to fall off as the grenade detonated.

"Nice kick!" Johnson shouted, as he jumped into the seat of the Chopper he had jacked.

"Took Kempo when I was a teenager!" Amber shouted as she did the same with her Chopper. Both of them turned the Choppers around, heading towards the two Jiralhanae Minors that had been rider as passengers in the Prowler, and mowed them down with 35mm shells.

"Ok, Brutes are dead, now what?" asked Johnson, as he and Amber dismounted their Choppers, and Aaron ran over to where they stood.

"We need to regroup with the others," said Aaron. "We're not sure exactly how far away they are, so we'll have to contact them for coordinates."

"It would probably be for the best if we take the Prowler, the Choppers won't hold all of us."

"Good point, said Aaron as they walked towards the Chopper. "I'm driving."

"My ass you are," said Johnson.

"How do you know where we're going?" asked Ahsoka, as Emily led her and Aayla through the various twists and turns of the _High Charity Reborn_.

"I'm an engineer," replied Emily "Learning the layout of ships was one of the basics they taught me at boot camp." She came to a stop at a door at the end of the corridor, and Aayla and Ahsoka did the same. "There's bound to be guards in there, when we go in take them out as fast as you can, then I'll overload the Core, got it?" Ahsoka and Aayla nodded. "Alright," said Emily as she pushed a button next to the door, causing it to open. As soon as it did, she fired her magnum at a Jiralhanae Minor that was working at a terminal that was in front of an enormous FTL core. His shields quickly collapsed, and by the time he reached for the spiker on his thigh, Emily had already shot him in the throat with a well aimed shot. Two other Jiralhanae working at other counsels drew their spikers and opened fire at the intruders. Ahsoka and Aayla, ignited their light sabers, blocking the the spikes, causing puddles of liquid to form around their feet. Aayla, threw her light saber at one of the Jiralhanae, and it slashed through his chest, and then arced, returning to Aayla's hand. Ahsoka hit the other Jiralhanae with a Force push, causing him to fly back and hit a wall with extreme force. As the dazed minor attempted to balance himself, Emily fired the last of the rounds in her magnum, killing the minor.

"How the hell did you do that?" asked Emily, looking at Aayla and Ahsoka as she reloaded her magnum, her eyes wide with shock and awe. "You just made that Minor fly like he was made of air," she said to Ahsoka. "And you just made your energy sword fly back towards you like there was a magnet in your hand."

"It's long story," said Aayla "And I promise that I will explain everything later, but we need to do what we came here to do."

"Fair enough," said Emily as she stepped over a dead Minor, and began typed at the terminal he had been working on. "Ok," said Emily as he fingers danced over the keyboard "I'll set the core to take five minutes to overload, that should be more than enough time for us to find an escape pod. We are in orbit above something with a breathable atmosphere right?"

"Well," said Ahsoka wondering if she should tell Emily about Halo. Deciding that now was not the best time, she said "Yeah, we are."

"Good," said Emily as she hit a final key on the terminal. "We've got five minutes until this ship is nothing but burnt and twisted metal. There should be an escape pod not too far from here, let's go," she said as she led Aayla and Ahsoka out of the room.

'Who the Hell designed this thing?" Aaron wondered as he balanced himself precariously on the passenger seat of the Prowler. Johnson was driving the Prowler, and since Amber's range was extremely limited with just a shotgun, she was manning the turret, leaving Aaron stuck with one of the passenger's seats. It felt extremely awkward, like he could fall out at any second.

In order to take his mind off of the situation at hand, he put his hand to his com unit and contacted Ahsoka. "Hey Ahsoka, how are things are your end?"

"Pretty good actually," Ahsoka replied. "We rescued the Human, it turned out she was an ODST. She set the engine of Salvation's flagship to overload, and we managed to get to an escape pod. As a matter of fact the ship should be blowing in a couple of seconds."

"Oh really?" said Aaron. Turning to face Johnson, he shouted "Johnson, stop the Prowler, the fireworks are about to start."

"What fireworks?" asked Johnson as he Prowler slowed to a stop. For an answer, Aaron pointed up at the sky. All three of them looked up to see what was left of the two fleets exchanging fire. Both sides had taken heavy causalities, only fractions of the fleets were left, ten maybe twenty ships on each side. As the looked on, the largest ship among the allied fleet of the Extremists and the CIS was engulfed in purple flames as it exploded. "Lordy," said Johnson as he watched the ship explode. As they watched the spectacle, they saw a large metal object, draw closer and closer, until it landed in the distance, around half a mile away from them.

"Hey Ahsoka," said Aaron, putting his head, to his com unit again "We just saw something land a short distance from us, any chance that was you?"

"We just landed, so maybe," Ahsoka replied. "Oh, now that I think about it, the woman we rescued has something called freezer burn, is there any chance you can take care of it?"

"Freezer burn?" said Aaron "Well I can't heal it, but I can make it so she doesn't feel the pain. Alright we be there in a couple of minutes, we're on a captured Prowler," he said as he took his hand away from his com unit. "Johnson, that was an escape pod, with some of our allies in it, they need a pickup."

"Ok," said Ahsoka. She, Aayla and Emily were standing outside of the escape pod that they had used to escape from the _High Charity Reborn_. "They'll be here in a few minutes."

Aayla nodded, while Emily said "Who are they?"

"It's a long story," said Aayla "Two ODSTs from your UNSC rescued another prisoner. Apparently they were successful."

"Well that's good," said Emily, glancing at the snow. "You know, i just realized something."

"What?" asked Ahsoka.

"I have no idea how long I was in that pod," said Emily "I could've been in there for years, what year is it?"

"We don't know how your calendar works," said Ahsoka "Sorry." Emily sighed as she stared at the ground. "Hey, I think that's them," said Ahsoka. A Prowler, glided towards their location, stopping short of them. Aaron, Amber, and Johnson exited it, Amber and Aaron removed their helmets and placed them on their backs. "Ok," said Ahsoka, leading Emily forward towards Aaron. "Aaron, this is the ODST we rescued, could you take care of her freezer burn?"

"Yeah, I'll see what I can..." he stopped talking as he looked at Emily. His eyes widened. "No way," he muttered "That's not possible."

"Aaron, what's the matter?" asked Amber, walked over to him "Are you alright or are you..." she trailed off as she saw Emily. She stared dumbfounded at her for a few seconds, before whispering "How is that even possible?"

Emily took a step forward, looking at Aaron and Amber. "Aaron? Amber? Is that you?" Without a word, she grabbed both of the Colton twins, each with one arm, and pulled them both into a hug. "Oh my God, it really is you two."

Aaron attempted to say something, but his throat was tightening up, and he only managed to say one word "Mom?"

I had been planning this before I even wrote the chapter that included Aaron's back story. So please, tell me what you think?


	21. Family Reunion

Chapter 21

Family Reunion

This story has hit over 50k words, one might ask, is the end near? NOT EVEN CLOSE, I'm not even sure if we're half way through yet (we're sort of dancing around that area) But yeah, there is much to come, with the obvious fact that I need to address the events that take place in Revenge of the Sith. Where was I? Oh right

to answer a question in a review, no I did not get FTL from battle star galactica, to be honest, it's kinda of everywhere. It's mentioned in Halo Wars, which is why i decided to use it, that's all.

As Emily hugged Aaron and Amber, their minds froze, unable to form a single thought. Emily had been gone for fourteen years, they had thought that she was dead. And now her she was, not looking a day older than the day she had been captured. It was slightly disturbing in a way, she looked more like their older sister than their mother.

"How..." Amber managed to croak out.

"My God," said Emily looking at Amber and Aaron "How long has it been?"

"Fourteen years," Aaron whispered, so softly that even he had trouble hearing it.

"Fourteen..." said Emily "You two are twenty now?" Aaron and Amber nodded numbly. Emily released Aaron and Amber. "Damn it," she whispered. "I missed it all, fourteen years of my kids growing up." As she spoke, a stray tear made it's way out of her eye. At this point, Aaron and Amber broke free of whatever had been holding them still, and hugged Emily tightly, who returned the favor. The three Coltons simply stood there, holding each other and crying silently.

"Master," Ahsoka whispered to Aayla "What just happened?"

"Ahsoka, I'm not quite sure," Aayla whispered. "How can she be their mother? She's at most nine years older than them."

"You found her in a cryo pod right?" asked Johnson. Ahsoka and Aayla both looked at him and nodded. "Well that explains it," said Johnson "cryo pods slow down cells so much, aging stops nearly completely. Example, in reality I was probably born over a hundred years ago, but i sure as hell don't have the body of a man that old. Problem is I don't have the mind of a man that old either. It's going to be weird for them with them having a mom that not even a decade older than them, but it'll have it's perks."

"Like what?" asked Ahsoka.

"Well she'll be able to watch her grandchildren grown up, while she's still at a young age." Ahsoka was glad that Aayla was not looking at her, for when Johnson mentioned the word grandchildren, she blushed furiously. She couldn't help but think that those grandchildren, would be her children, some of them at least. At that point it occurred to her that she hadn't actually given any thought to the future of her relationship with Aaron, they had simply never talked about it, due in part to the fact they couldn't talk about it unless they were alone. She would have to talk to him about it when they got a chance, maybe they should let Emily in on it, she of all people deserved to know.

Three Warthogs sped across the surface of Halo, leaving green plains, and entering a snowy area. "Core," said Jen "How far away we?"

"An hour, maybe two," said Core. "We have not been detected so far, if we can keep this up, we can hit them while they are unaware and render Halo harmless."

"Good," said Jen "Even if the others manage to rescue those POWs Salvation can still grab another Human at any time, at the most they just bought us time, well needed time.

In one of the other Warthogs, Vadmare put his hand to his com unit, someone was contacting him. "Vadmare 'Katar," came the voice of Admiral Hanson "What is your status."

"I am leading an assault mission on the firing room," said Vadmare "What is your status Admiral?"

"The enemy fleet has been completely destroyed, although we sustained heavy casualties." said Hanson Only seventeen of our ships have survived, but you will be glad to hear that the _Glorious Victory _is among the survivors, although she now bears many battle scars. Also Vadmare, the enemy flagship's engines overloaded destroying it completely. Before it exploded, a single escape pod jettisoned. Did you have anything to do with it?"

Vadmare frowned "Not that I am aware of," said Vadmare "Why?"

"It was barely damaged at all and it's shields were near full strength. It's firepower was devastating and it responsible for the destruction of many of our ships. If it had not been destroyed, I fear that my entire fleet might have been destroyed. If you were to find that one that is responsible for it, please tell me, I would like to give them medals. Every last person up here owes us their lives. Hanson out."

In the third Warthog, Ramore put his hand to his own com unit. "Ahsoka, what is it?"

"Umm, Ramore," came Ahsoka's voice "We've got the prisoners, and...it's hard to explain, any chance you could pick us up?"

"Ahsoka, you sound startled, what's wrong?" asked Ramore.

"Just, get over here Ramore, you'll see," said Ahsoka as she severed the communication line. Ramore glanced down at the dashboard of the Warthog, the coordinates of their location were being transmitted to it. Ramore frowned, coordinates could not be transmitted with merely an earpiece, either Aaron or Amber must be transmitting the coordinates.

"Fleetmaster!" shouted Ramore "The team that went to rescue the prisoners are transmitting their coordinates, requesting a pickup."

"Lead the way!" shouted Vadmare, as Ramore's Warthog, swerved and Jen's and Vadmare's followed.

The tears had stopped following, the Coltons had cried all they could. Now they sat by the used escape pop, talking. "So you two joined up with the ODSTs two huh?" asked Emily. "Following in your mother's footsteps huh?"

"Sort of," said Aaron "One of your old squad-mates from the War on Salvation watched us after...you know. The fact that he was an ODST helped influence our decision as well."

"Really who watched you?" asked Emily "Buck? Mickey? Dutch? Romeo? Oh God no not Romeo, I'd come back from the after life just to kill him for that. The Rookie watched you didn't he?"

"That was his nickname?" said Amber. "Yeah it was him."

Emily gave a sigh, as she looked upward. "So, Halo huh? You know when back in the War on Salvation, we were scared shitless that Salvation was going to find and use one. Now here we are on one. I'll admit, I had a nightmare or two about it, but with you two here," she looked at her children "I think I can handle it." As they had done repeatedly since they had since they had been reunited, they hugged. "By the way what happened to your deadbeat dad?"

From a distance Ahsoka, Aayla and Johnson watched the newly reunited family talk. "Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?" asked Ahsoka, as she watched the Coltons, smiling.

"A few," said Aayla "But this comes close."

"With every last damned thing that war causes, it's nice to see a family that is actually reunited because of it." said Johnson as he took a drag on his cigar. "You have any family?" he asked.

"No," said Ahsoka 'well not exactly,' she thought 'I do have Aaron.'

"The only person in my family that I remember is my Uncle," said Aayla, frowning slightly, "He's dead now."

"My family split up when I was six," said Johnson "My Aunt watched me. One of the earliest things I can remember is her trying to squeeze me into my cousin's clothes so she could take me to church." Johnson gave a brief laugh. "Then I came back after a tour of duty that...didn't go as well as it could have, and she was dead. Completely natural causes, she looked peaceful. After I soaked my head in booze, and then sobered up again, I realized something. She was in a better place. I guess all you need is a little time to learn how to let go, you can't run away from these things, you need to face them head on, it's a part of life." Aayla stared at Johnson. What he was saying intrigued her. It was a common Jedi belief that attachments should be avoided to prevent the feeling of loss, which often lead to the dark side. But what Johnson said about facing loss head on made her think about it.

There was a low humming noise, and everyone stood up as three Warthogs came into sight. "Three?" said Aaron as he saw them approach. "Wait a minute," he said doing come quick mental math. "We're going to have a problem," he said.

"What would that be?" asked Amber.

"Even if we load up the Warthogs and the Prowler to the limit, one person won't have anywhere to sit."

"Hmm," said Amber thinking quietly. Then something clicked. "I have an idea," said Amber as the Warthogs came to a stop.

Salvation was not happy. First contact with the team that was opening the Forerunner pod was lost, then the team sent to retrieve ceased to respond, and now the High Charity Reborn had been destroyed. He needed a Human to activate this ring, and both of the two that he had held had been lost.

He was sitting in his Gravity throne in front of the console that would activate Halo. He was now surrounded by his Honor Guard, two dozen Jiralhanae, armed with various weapons, spikers, maulers, Brute shots, fuel rods, one even had a gravity hammer. He wanted nothing more than to be angry, to watch something that had wronged him die painfully before is eyes. But he couldn't afford to, if he got angry then he wouldn't think straight, if he didn't think straight than he could slip up, and if he did that he was already dead.

"To all of those who still believe," said Salvation, pressing a button on his armrest "In order for us to walk the ascended path, we require a Human. Whoever brings me one alive, will walk by my side when the Great Journey comes and sweeps us all away."

As he brought his hand away, Dooku and Grievous entered the room walking towards them. "It would seem that your plans aren't doing as well as you would like them to be," said Grievous, amusement in his voice. Garnigus, who stood next to Salvation, let out a growl and brandished his gravity hammer in an obvious threat.

"Garnigus," said Salvation sternly "Control your temper. What is it Dooku?"

"Our fleet has been destroyed, it is uncertain how long it will take for reinforcements to arrive," said Dooku.

"I have no reinforcements, those were the last of my ships," said Salvation. "I have no intention of running from this ring, we all shall die here, one way or another. We shall remain strong. Dooku I must make a request of you."

"And what would that be?" asked Dooku.

"As you know, we require a human for our plans to be realized. I must ask you to inform your forces to bring a human." Dooku merely smiled.

Three Warthogs and a Prowler sped towards the firing room. The passengers of the vehicles had been rearranged. Jen drove a Warthog with Padmé in shotgun, Anakin on the gun, and Core floating nearby. Vadmare drove the second Warthog, with Kit in shotgun, and Marticus on the gun. Johnson drove the Prowler, With Aayla and Kit in the passengers seats and Ramore on the gun. Emily drove the third and final Warthog, with Aaron in shotgun, Amber on the gun, and Ahsoka on...Aaron's lap.

'This is ridiculous!' Ahsoka thought hotly. 'How am I supposed to act like there's nothing going on between us, when I'm sitting on his lap! Amber's enjoying this isn't she?'

Similar thoughts were racing through Aaron's head. 'Amber I love you, but you can be a sadistic bitch sometimes. I mean seriously, I can see you smirking right now, AND MOM IS RIGHT THERE AND...oh crap she's looking at us, she knows somethings up.'

Emily was indeed looking at Ahsoka and Aaron, both of whom were showing signs of extreme embarrassment. Before she remark about it, she saw that Aaron's hand and Ahsoka's were intertwined. Emily put two and two together and came out with four. "Aaron," she said, barely keeping herself from smiling "Aren't you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?"

Ahsoka blinked. "How did she..." she began, but Aaron interrupted her "She's a mother, she notices these kinds of things."

Emily nodded, smiling slyly. "So come on, judging by the grin on Amber's face I'm the only one not in the loop here. By the way Amber you suggested that Ahsoka sit on Aaron's lap because of that didn't you?"

"Hehehe," said Amber in a teasing voice "Maybe."

"Yeah," said Aaron, who couldn't help but grin himself a little. "Well, where do we start?"

In the distance, a Jiralhanae with a beam rifle scanned the area. Out of the corner of his scope, he spotted the small convoy heading for the firing room. Grinning sadistically, he lined up a shot with the driver of one of the Warthogs. As the scope focused, he saw that it was a Sangheili Fleetmaster. The Jiralhanae blinked as he looked at the Fleetmaster. Something about it seemed...familiar. Then the Jiralhanae realized where he had seen the Sangheili before. The look of satisfaction on his face, turned to one of horror. "The Blood Stained Sangheili," he whispered.

Looks like Vadmare is pretty well known huh? Feel free do guess on how he got that name. In other words the Coltons have a nice family reunion and Emily gets in on the secret. As always please tell me what you think, and review.


	22. Divide and Conquer

Chapter 22

Divide and Conquer

Hope you liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this one even more. In other words, I read a fairly amusing chapter in The Wasteland Life by Bren Tenkage and, inspired by it, within the next couple of chapters I will be writing a F&Q oneshot. So either private message me or review me with your questions, and if I like them and the cast of Fighting for a Purpose will answer them in the F&Q. They can be anything from, why I wrote this story, to why I made a character a certain way. I will also include information that I want to be known in the F&Q. Remember, ask your questions, I will wait several chapters before writing the F&Q

As Salvation sat on his Gravity throne, Dooku and Grievous still standing before him, a button on his armrest began to beep. "What is it?" asked Salvation as he pressed the button.

"Hierarch, came the voice of a Jiralhanae "I have spotted a small convoy of around a dozen Allied Species troopers, consisting of several Humans and several others, heading for your position, it is apparent that they intend to attack you, hoping to catch you off guard." Salvation smiled. He required a Human, and a group of them were coming right to him, his fortunes were beginning to change. "Hierarch, there is something else," continued the Jiralhanae "The Blood Stained Sangheili is among them." The backs of many of Salvation's Honor Guards stiffened. Garnigus on the other hand, merely snorted.

"Are you sure of this?" asked Salvation.

"Beyond a doubt," said the Jiralhanae "I was among the handful of survivors that were able to escape his wraith, I will never forget his face. He will be at your position in a matter of minutes, I suggest that you prepare yourself," and with that, the communication line was severed.

"Who is this 'Blood Stained Sangheili'?" asked Dooku.

"A myth," said Garnigus "Nothing more. A fairy tale concocted by a handful of warriors who went insane on the battlefield."

"Do not be so quick to dismiss Garnigus," said Salvation "During my first war with the Allied Species," he explained "Seven hundred soldiers made a move to slaughter a village filled with non believers. Seven Sangheili stood in their way. The Sangheili held a choke point and did their best to fend them off. Eventually my forces picked them up one by one, until only two were left, a Minor and a Shipmaster. They fought will incredible skill, but eventually the Minor was shot in in the throat with a spiker round. He died in the arms of the Shipmaster."

"One soldier who managed to get away later said that tears were leaking from the Shipmaster's eyes as he whispered 'you killed my son.'" Afterwards, rage overwhelmed the Shipmaster, and he fought like an animal, using whatever was necessary to kill ever last Jiralhanae that he could see. He used firearms, an energy sword he grabbed the weapons of fallen Jiralhanae and ran others through with them. Sangheili never use weapons that were not designed by their species, the rage gripped him that tightly. An hour later, nearly every last Jiralhanae was dead, and the Sangheili looked like he had just swam in an ocean of blood. After that, he became a symbol of fear of my forces, he was the Demon of my crusade."

"The what?" said Grievous.

"It does not matter," said Salvation "If the Blood Stained Sangheili is truly here, than we must eliminate him before he eliminates us. Garnigus! See to it that he is eliminated." Garnigus bowed.

"Grievous," said Dooku "Accompany the Chieftain."

Grievous looked at Dooku with loathing in his eyes as he said "Very well." The two walked out of the room, glaring at each other.

"Forgive me Salvation," said Dooku as she too began to walk out of the room "There are matters to which I must attend." Dooku was lying, he had no matters to attend to. The way Dooku saw it, either Halo was about to be activated or the Allied Species were about to seize control of it. Either way, it was time for him to leave.

"Here we are," said Core, as the convoy stopped near a snowy hill "The entrance to the firing room." The team disembarked from their vehicles all of them carrying their weapons, Emily was carrying an assault rifle that had been given to her by Jen. One the trip to the firing room, Emily and Johnson had been informing about the Republic, the CIS, the Extremists and everything else there was to know about the situation. They made their way towards the stop of the hill, until the came to a large silver door.

"Hey tinker-bell," said Johnson to Core "Mind opening the door?"

Muttering something angrily, Core floating towards the door, shooting a thin blue beam out of his eye at it. After sustaining the beam for a few seconds, the door opened. "There," said Core "Now the way is-Oh my!" he shouted as he levitated backwards with extreme haste. Garnigus had been waiting on the other side of the door, and now that it was open, he jumped forward, brandishing his gravity hammer, narrowly missing Core.

As Garnigus lifted his hammer back to make another swing, Marticus let out a roar of rage and, forgetting about his machine gun, tackled Garnigus head on. The impact sent both of them rolling down the hill, and out of sight.

"Well," said Grievous, as he too walked out of the door, an active light saber in each hand "That makes my job easier. Now who would like to die first?" Kit Fisto charged forward igniting his green light saber, and swinging it at Grievous. The General blocked the swipe and made to preform a counter swipe, when Ramore also charge at him, swinging both of his energy swords at him. Grievous abandoned his attack and blocked Ramore's swipe with his light saber.

"The door!" shouted Ramore. Everybody glanced at the door and realized, with a leap of horror, that it was closing. Everybody scrambled to get through the door before it closed. Nearly everyone got through, but Grievous jumped forward and made a slash at Johnson, who jumped back to avoid the blades. As he did the door slammed shut, with everyone inside, except for Johnson, Ramore and Kit.

"I guess I'm staying out here with the giant mechanical freak," said Johnson as he aimed his SMG at Grievous.

"Shit," Aaron swore as he looked at the closed door behind him "You think they'll be ok?"

"Kit has faced Grievous before," said Aayla "They will be fine."

"Why the hell did the door close anyway?" asked Aaron.

"As I said before, this Instillation is in extremely poor condition." said Core "It must have shorted out and closed automatically. Judging from the condition of this area, I won't be able to open any other doors, at least not with taking a good deal of time."

"We must keep moving," said Vadmare as he began to move forward, the others following him. They were walking through a wide, slightly dim, hallway with many doors branching off to other hallways.

"We just need to keep going straight," said Core "We should reach the firing room without too much time gone by." The team continued to move forward, weapons at the ready. As they passed a particularly large doorway, Ahsoka paused.

"Snips?" said Anakin a concerned look on his face.

"I think I sense someone," Ahsoka said as she looked down the hallway.

Aaron walked forward, his SMG pointing down the hallway. "I don't see anything," he said. "Jen your eyes are better than mine, can you see anything?" The SPARTAN walked forward, stared down the hallway and shook her head.

"Oh, alright," said Ahsoka "Maybe I'm just being para..." but she was cut off, as an unseen force pulled her Aaron, and Jen down the hallway, and the door slammed shut behind them.

"Damn it," Emily swore. "Core can you get the door open?"

"Were you listening earlier?" asked Core hotly "No I can not! Most likely that door was forced down by that Force thing that you mentioned."

"Don't worry about Aaron," said Padmé "Ahsoka won't let anything happen to him." Emily nodded stiffly as the remaining members of the team continued to make their way forward.

Marticus and Garnigus continued to roll down the hill, finally coming to a stop. As the did, they both quickly got to their feet, weapons raised. Garnigus swung his gravity hammer at Marticus, who raised his machine gun to block it. The gravity hammer split the machine gun in two, as if it was made of sheet metal. Dropping his ruined weapon and detaching the ammo on his back, Marticus charged forward and slammed his fist into Garnigus' stomach. Garnigus let out a grunt and dropped his gravity hammer. Not letting up, Marticus threw another punch at Garnigus, this time at his face. Garnigus grabbed his son's fist and, with a roar of rage, punched Marticus in the jaw with his free hand. Marticus stumbled back and spat out a glob of blood.

"I should have gone this a long time ago!" shouted Garnigus as he ran forward throwing another punch at Marticus.

"As should have I!" shouted Marticus as he evaded to the hide, and slammed his elbow into Garnigus' face, breaking his father's nose. Letting out a roar of rage Garnigus tackled Marticus, pushing him to the ground. Sitting on top of him, Garnigus rained blow after blow on Marticus' face, fury etched across his face. Marticus' body seemed to grow limp underneath the strain of the blows. Garnigus clasped both of his fists together, brought them over his head, and then brought them down with a roar.

Without warning, both of Marticus' hands sprang up, grabbing both of Garnigus' arms. As the Father and Son struggled, they looked into each other's eyes and Marticus spoke. "Is that all you got old man?"

As the team continued to make their way to the firing room Padmé stopped as she heard something snarl. Glancing upwards, she saw a massive figure holding on to the ceiling, looking directly at her. With catlike reflexes, Padmé aimed her blaster at the figure and fired. Durge dropped down from the ceiling and grabbed Padmé and Emily by the throat and charged like a bull through an open door. "After him!" shouted Vadmare, as he fired both of his plasma rifles at Durge, who simply ignored them as they pierced his armor. As he passed through the door, door dropped two small objects behind him.

"No," whispered Core, who flew through the doorway, clearing it just before the explosives exploded. The explosion was so fierce that the ceiling above the door caved in, blocking the door completely.

"Oh for fucks sake!" Amber swore loudly. "This plan's going to shit so fast it's not even funny."

"I agree with you Colton," Vadmare growled "But we must press forward, and hope everyone else can handle themselves.

"Fine," said Amber half heartily as the remaining team members began to move forward.

"Oh my head," Aaron groaned as he got to his feet. "Where are we?"

"I'm not sure," said Ahsoka as she herself got to her feet. They were standing in a room that slowly descended downwards, wires were hanging from the ceiling almost completely blocking it from view. "How did we get in here anyway?" Ahsoka's question was answered when two blood red light sabers ignited themselves not too far away.

"Well...fuck," said Aaron as Ahsoka ignited her light saber and Jen drew her Katana.

"Wait," said Obi-wan extending his arm and causing the others to stop.

"Oh for the love of-what?" shouted Amber.

"I sense Dooku," said Obi-wan "He's that way," he said pointing down a hallway that branched off of the one they were currently in.

"Most likely he is attempting to escape," said Aayla "Anakin Obi-wan, you take care of him. Amber, Vadmare and I will take care of Salvation." Obi-Wan nodded as he and Anakin sprinted down the hallway.

"Ok, we came in here with over a dozen people, how the Hell did we get whittled down to three?" Amber asked as they ram down the hall.

"Fate is not kind do us," Vadmare answered blandly "Which is why we must fight against it with all of our strength.

Not very much action going on in this chapter, it's more like a setup heres what we've got for the next couple of chapters. Marticus vs. Garnigus. Kit Ramore and Johnson vs. Grievous. Aaron Ahsoka and Jen vs Ventress. Padmé Emily and Core vs. Durge. Anakin and Obi-wan vs. Dooku. Amber, Aayla and Vadmare vs. Salvation. Yeah you have a lot to look forward to. Also don't forget to ask your question (see top) and as always, review.


	23. Savage Battles

Chapter 23

Savage Battles

Seriously? Not one person has given me a question for the F&Q (Well maybe one or two, with one being one that has been asked since the story began) seriously you can ask any question that you want and it'll be answered in a oneshot, just something I'm doing for fun. Come on, throw me a bone here.

In other words, to CIS fan, yeah Grievous is a little tricky to write due to the fact that his skill level is very inconsistent. In his debut, he wiped he floor with five Jedi, while in the Clone Wars a fourteen year old girl could hold her own against her, and in Return of the Sith he was just plain pathetic, so I'll see what I can do.

As Marticus continued to hold his father's arms steady, he pulled both of his feet back and kicked Garnigus squarely in the chest. The Chieftain gave a grunt as he flew back, landing on his back. Both Jiralhanae quickly got to their feet, and charged at each other. Garnigus struck first, landing a punch in Marticus' face, who staggered back, slightly dazed. Seeing an opening, Garnigus charged forward, throwing a punch at Marticus' stomach. Marticus jumped to his right, having faked being dazed, and grabbed for Garnigus' head. He tore off Garnigus' helmet, and Garnigus barley had time to blink before Marticus smashed it against his head.

Reeling backwards, one hand over his eye, Garnigus let out a snarl that sounded like it had came from a very angry animal. "You are not worthy of being acknowledged as my offspring, you are not my son."

"Your words are hollow to me," said Marticus angrily "I am not your son, because you were never my father." Letting out a roar of rage, Garnigus charged at Marticus his hands outstretched, clawing for Marticus' throat. Marticus dropped the helmet, and grabbed his hands, and their fingers interlocked, pushing furiously against each other.

"I should have gone this a long time ago!" shouted Garnigus "You pathetic little whelp! I will wipe you from existence!"

"You great and glorious Covenant once thought itself to be invincible," retorted Marticus "Now it lies broken and shattered. JUST AS YOU SHALL!" he shouted as he tilted his head back, and then brought it forward, slamming it into Garnigus' face. Garnigus let out a howl as he released his grip, clutching his face. Marticus punched Garnigus in the chest, catching him off guard, and causing him to fall over. Marticus let out a roar, raised his right foot, and brought it down as hard as he could on Garnigus' chest. As it connected, there was a sicking crack, the blow had broken Garnigus' ribs. The air was forced out of Garnigus lungs as he hacked up a glob of blood, one of the ribs had punctured his lungs.

Panting heavily and only sparing a second to wipe his own blood off of his face, Marticus walked away from his father, to where his gravity hammer had fallen. Picking it up, he gave it and experimental swing as a nearby rock. It shattered as if it had been a dirt clog.

"You," said Garnigus, as Marticus turned around to face him. "Get your filthy hands off of my hammer!" he shouted as he attempted to get up, but collapsed again, clutching his chest in pain. Still holding the gravity hammer in his hands Marticus walked to where Garnigus lay.

"How the mighty have fallen," he said with disgust as he looked at his father. Without another word Marticus lifted the hammer high over his head, and brought the bladed end down. Garnigus' face exploded, blood and bone fragments shot in all directions. Marticus lifted the hammer up to eye level and examined it. "A good weapon," he muttered "A trophy symbolizing my victory." Glancing at Garnigus' discarded helmet, Marticus placed the gravity hammer on the snow and walked towards it. Picking it up, he removed his Minor helmet and replaced it with the Chieftain helmet.

"A perfect fit," he muttered. Glancing at Garnigus' body, Marticus shaw that his armor was relatively unharmed. A thought occurred to him. "I'll just take my inheritance," he said as he walked towards Garnigus' body, discarding his Minor helmet.

"God damn it," swore Johnson as he fired his SMG, at Grievous, who blocked the bullets with his light sabers, causing them to melt on impact. "What the fuck is this thing!"

Ramore dashed forward, swinging his energy swords down , intending to cut Grievous in half. The General blocked the swipe, while simultaneously blocking a blow from Kit. Grievous raised a foot, and kicked Kit in the chest, causing the Jedi master to cry out in pain as he was thrown back. With his free light saber, he slashed at Ramore's side making a moderate gash in it. Ramore roaring in pain as he lost his grip on his energy swords and fell to all fours. Turning away from Ramore and Kit, Grievous charged at Johnson, who fired his SMG until the should of the hammer hitting an empty chamber could be heard. One of Grievous' metal hands closing around Johnson's throat, lifting him off of his feet. Dropping his SMG, Johnson threw a punch at Grievous' chest, and let out a roar of agony as his fist hit solid metal.

"You," said Grievous, hate drenching his words "Have caused me no end of trouble!" he said as he raised his light saber high. Panic tore through Johnson's mind as he desperately struggled against the iron grip that held him, desperately trying to break free. Then an idea occurred to him. "DIE!" shouted Grievous as he began to bring his light saber down. As fast as he could, Johnson removed his cigar from his mouth, and jammed as hard as he could into Grievous' eye. Grievous gave a roar as his eye was burned from the smoking cigar. Dropping Johnson, Grievous stumbled backwards clutching his burned eye.

Scrabbling on the ground for his SMG, Johnson ejected the old clip and slapped a new one in, pointing it at Grievous. Grievous seemed to see him, for as soon as Johnson pointed the gun at him, Grievous dropped down onto all fours and scuttled away and incredible, not unlike an insect. Johnson blinked, Grievous has escape so fast he had barely even had time to see where he had gone. "The fuck?" he whispered to himself.

Ramore gave a groan as he pulled himself to a feet. Across from him, Kit was also getting up. "Are alright?" he asked seeing the gash in Ramore's side.

"I will be fine," said Ramore as he got to his feet.

"You two alright?" asked Johnson as he walked over. The both nodded "Good, he said "Now we just need to-CONTACT!" he shouted pointing his SMG at something behind Ramore and Kit. They both wheeled around, weapons raised. They saw a figure approaching them partially hidden by the snow. Judging by the out, it was a Jiralhanae. "How good did you saw that Marticus guy was?" asked Johnson. Ramore shook his head as the figure drew closer.

Then out of the snow, came a Jiralhanae wearing Chieftain armor and holding a gravity hammer. As Johnson raised his SMG the Chieftain raised his arms shouting "Hold your fire it's me, Marticus."

As Durge ran forward into a large room, what was divided in by what looked like a cylinder shaped tunnel. Stopping in the center of the room, Durge threw Padmé and Emily as hard as he could. They both slammed into the wall on the far side of the room and slid to the floor dazed. Durge reached for his side and produced twin blasters, aiming at both of the women. But before he could fire, a massive red beam tore through his chest, leaving a gapping hole. Almost the instant the laser stopped, the hole began to close as Durge turned around to see Core floating behind him, his eye a blazing red. "YOU ARE NOT WELCOME ON THIS RING!" he shouted before firing his laser again. As it did before Core's laser tore a hole in Durge's chest, which, once again, began to close.

Still slightly dazed, Emily got to her feet, aiming her assault rifle at Durge. Pulling down on the trigger, she sent dozens of superheated bullets at him. They tore through his body, burning it as they did. But no matter what agony they caused Durge, they did nothing to bring him closer to death. Padmé also got to her feet, and fired her blaster at Durge. Infuriated, the bounty hunter turned around, firing both of his blasters at Emily and Padmé. They both ran in opposite directions as he fired, narrowly avoiding the blaster fire. As Durge continued to fire, Core tore his chest open for a third time with his laser. Roaring in rage, Durge grabbed Core and threw him across the room. The Monitor hit the wall with a loud thud, and his eye flickered for a moment, before it became solid again.

Emily and Padmé continued to fire their weapons at Durge accomplishing nothing short of causing him agony. Core fired his laser a fourth time, this time taking Durge's head clean off. The titan paused for a moment, standing still as if it was over. Then a massive lump grew from his body and a new head formed, taking the place of the old. "GOD DAMN IT HOW DO WE KILL THIS THING?" Emily shouted in frustration.

"Aw crap not again," Aaron swore as he fired his SMG at Ventress, who deflected the bullets as if she wasn't even trying. Truth be told, she was more focused on fighting Ahsoka and Jen, who were attacking Ventress from either side. For the most part she seemed to be keeping up, but it looked as if she was slowly being overwhelmed. Ahsoka was darting from side to side swinging her light saber at Ventress, while Jen was ruthlessly assaulting Ventress with both her katana and light saber.

Ventress snarled as Ahsoka's light saber slipped through her guard, narrowly missing her face. She threw a force push at Ahsoka, who leapt out of the way. Her diverted concentration made it so that Ventress barley had enough time to block Jen's katana. This was bad if she didn't come up with a way to get out of this, she was dead. As she blocked another burst of bullets from Aaron, Ventress stared at him for a second. Ventress smirked, she knew what she had to do. As Jen and Ahsoka swung their blades at her, she blocked both of them and pushed back at them, causing them to stumble slightly.

The two seconds that they were off balance was all that she needed. Using the Force to increase her speed, she detached herself from the fight, dashing towards Aaron. Seeing the Dark Jedi running towards him, Aaron desperately fired his SMG at her. She merely deflected the bullets he sent at her until his magazine was empty. He dropped his SMG and pulled his sniper rifle off of his back, but as he brought it up to eye level, Ventress was gone. 'Where did she go?' he thought. As he made eye contact with Ahsoka, he saw a look of horror on her face. He found what the problem was, as a blood red light saber burst out of his chest. As he cried out in pain, he felt an arm reach around his neck, holding in tight. Behind him, Ventress gave an evil smile. "It seems we have reached an impasse," she said holding the light saber she had stuck through Aaron's back firmly.

Vadmare, Aayla and Amber all rounded a corner, and found themselves facing a Prophet, sitting on a gravity throne and surrounded by two dozen honor guards. "So," said Amber looking at the Prophet "You must be Salvation."

"Indeed I am," said Salvation as he sat upon his gravity throne. "And you are the one they call the Blood Stained Sangheili?" he asked, pointing at Vadmare.

"Some have referred to me as such," Vadmare answered coldly.

"Not nearly as impressive in person," said one of the honor guards "I guess skills do get passed on in genes."

Vadmare stiffened "I beg your pardon?" he said.

"Yes," sneered the honor guard "If you're as skilled as fighting as your son was, I'm sure we have nothing to be worried about." Vadmare seemed to pale a little.

"You be silent!" Salvation commanded.

The honor guard ignored him. "From what I heard your son died like an animal, begging for his life like a coward, he's probably the disgrace of your entire species isn't he?"

Vadmare simply stared into space, as if he did not see anything. "Vadmare?" said Aayla looking at him with worry in her face. Vadmare said nothing. A single tear fell from his eye. Vadmare 'Katar was crying. Then his jaw open wide as he let out a roar that deafened all who heard it, it was a roar that promised pain, misery, suffering, and no mercy. Vadmare charged forward, dropping his weapons as he ran towards the honor guard that had provoked him. The honor guard merely smirked and raised his spiker, aiming it at Vadmare. But before he could pull that trigger, Vadmare had grabbed it, and wrenched it out of his hands. Before the honor guard could do anything, Vadmare let out a roar, and violently stabbed the honor guard in the throat with the spiker's blades. Salvation looked on in horror as Vadmare leapt over the still writing body of the honor guard, stabbing another honor guard in the chest as he did.

I think I'll leave it there for now, as always tell me what you think and review, and and be sure you ask questions for the F&Q special (Be sure to mention that they are the questions for the F&Q so that i don't get confused) Why do I fell like I'm forgetting something? Oh yeah! Happy Summer!


	24. Unstoppable Rage

Chapter 24

Unstoppable Rage

Ok I have a couple of questions, but I still need some more if I want to make the F&Q work, so don't feel shy. In other words, if you're going to make a review just to basically say f*** you for what I did kindly f*** off. I will either delete your review or do my best to flame you. One person said that I sucked because of how i ended my last chapter, whoever you are, you know who you are please never read my story again. Now those of you who actually have manners, enjoy.

"Shit," Aaron whispered as Ventress maintained her iron grip around his throat, and held her light sabers steady, one near his throat, the other through his chest. He got an idea of just how bad the stab wound was, when he gave a hacking cough, and blood splattered the inside of his helmet, just below the visor. "I am so fucked," he whispered.

Ahsoka and Jen stood facing Ventress, blades held at the ready, unsure of what to do. 'Aaron,' Ahsoka thought in a quite voice. A hot feeling was spreading through her body, causing her grip on her light saber to tighten and her teeth to grit. She felt an enormous amount of hatred towards Ventress build in her gut. 'How dare she do that to Aaron!' she thought angrily. 'She's done nothing but cause him pain and suffering, maybe it would be better if she...Ahsoka calm yourself, anger leads to the Dark Side,' she thought, attempting to calm her rage.

"Well, well, well," said Ventress a smirk on her face "Where do were go from here?" With speed that was impossible to attain by a normal Human, Jen sheathed her katana, and drew her SMG and fired a shot, aiming for Ventress' head. Ventress angled her light saber to block the bullets, which melted and dripped to the floor harmlessly.

"Ah, ah,ah," said Ventress tauntingly "That was rather naughty. And do you know what happens to naughty girls? They get punished," she said as she angled the light saber in Aaron's chest, pushing if upward burning through Aaron's body. Aaron let out a roar of pain as the light saber burned throug his body. He was finding it difficult to maintain consciousness, the edges of his vision were beginning to be consumed by darkness. "Now then," said Ventress, a sadistic glee in here voice "Unless you want me to take pretty boy here apart piece by piece, I suggest you let me walk away unscathed, or I'll see how far away I can get from that with him."

Vadmare let out a roar as he impaled another honor guard through the stomach with the spiker that he had acquired. As the honor guard fell, he tore the mauler out of his hands, dropping the spiker. Charging towards another honor guard, Vadmare slammed the blade into the one of the eyes and tore it down the face, cutting the throat open.

"My God," Amber said numbly as she watched Vadmare butcher the honor guards.

"He's a force of nature," said Aayla, who was in equal shock. Both women were merely standing still, weapons dangling uselessly at their sides. There were in too much shock to form thoughts of helping Vadmare, it wasn't as if he needed help anyway.

Vadmare buried the blade of the mauler in the throat of another honor guard. Releasing his grip on the mauler, Vadmare relieved the honor guard of his brute shot. Letting out a roar, Vadmare swung the brute shot, decapitating the honor guard he had taken it from.

Another honor guard swung his own brute shot, attempting to take Vadmare's head off. Vadmare ducked the blade, and swung his own, cutting the honor guard's chest open. The honor guard wielding a gravity hammer let out a roar and brought his hammer down, aiming at Vadmare's head. Vadmare dropped his brute shot, grabbed the gravity hammer, and with a soul tearing roar, impaled the honor guard with the spiked end.

Salvation watched on, a mixture of shock and horror on his face. Blood from his fallen honor guards had been splattered all over Vadmare's armor from when he had stabbed them. This was the wraith of the Blood Stained Sangheili, it could not be described with words, the rage that he used to tear apart his foes. He slumped back in his gravity throne, watching dumbly as Vadmare tore through his honor guard as if they were paper. "What chance did I ever have against this beast?" he asked himself quietly.

Vadmare let out a roar as he faced the last honor guard, raised the gravity hammer, and stabbed him...through the mouth. As the spiked end exited out of the back of his head, the honor guard fell to the floor, desperately but futilely attempting to breathe. Vadmare, panting heavily with rage looked around. Every last honor guard was dead, with exception of a few who lay on the ground, bleeding heavily and breathing their last breaths. Turning to face Salvation, Vadmare growled quietly "You."

Vadmare let out a roar as he ran towards Salvation, holding the gravity hammer with the spiked end forward, as if it was a spear. Salvation made no attempt to avoid Vadmare as he executed a great leap, landing on Salvation's gravity throne. For a second, Salvation and Vadmare looked into each other's eyes. Salvation saw pure untamed rage, and Vadmare saw shriveling fear. With one last roar, Vadmare thrust the spiked end of the gravity hammer forward. It pierced Salvation's body and exited out of the back of the gravity throne. As Salvation began to bleed he uttered his last words. "I welcome death now," he said "For the demons of Hell must pale in comparison to this monster." Then with a weak smile, Salvation went limp in his gravity throne. The last of the San 'Shyuum was dead.

"This is fucking ridiculous!" Emily shouted as she fired another burst at Durge "Core any ideas."

"Maybe one!" Core replied as he fired his laser at Durge, who had grown wise to it, and avoided it easily. "This room is like part of a circuit. It runs through the entire instillation. When it is prepared to fire, energy courses through the center. Eventually the same energy is magnified by the rest of the halo and is released when the halo is fired."

"Is this the same energy that kills all organic life?" asked Emily

"The same," Core replied.

Emily was still for a moment, then a smile broke out across her face. "I have plan. Padmé, Core keep this thing busy!" she shouted as she pressed her hand to her com unit. This plan was extremely insane, but it just might work.

Vadmare slumped to his knees, staring blanking at the corpse of Salvation. Amber and Aayla stared at him, unsure of how to approach him, or if they should even approach him at all. Amber was about to take a step forward when her com unit beeped. "Yeah?" she said putting her hand to it.

"Amber," came Emily's voice "I need you to do something."

"Of course what is it?" Amber replied.

Emily took a deep breath as she said "I need to activate Halo."

"WHAT?" Amber screamed "Mom how the Hell can you ask me to do that?"

"I don't have time to explain but it'll help Core Padmé and me kill Durge, I just need it to start charging up, just get the energy flowing and then pull the activation index out when I give you the word."

Amber let out a frustrated groan as she said "When this is over you owe me one Hell of an explanation. All right I'll do it, whatever it is you're going to do, get ready." Amber walked forward, heading towards Salvation's body. Reaching into the pockets of Salvation's robes, amber felt around, until her hand closed on something. Pulling her hand out, she looked at the object that she held and saw that it was the activation index.

"Amber what are you doing?" asked Aayla looking with quizzical expression on her face.

"I don't know, but the others need me to do this to kill Durge," said Amber as she walked towards the console activation index.

"Vadmare do you approve of this?" asked Aayla, looking at the Fleetmaster. Vadmare said nothing, as he continued the stare at the body of Salvation, a blank empty look in his eyes.

"Well," said Amber as she approached the console "Here goes something," she said as she placed the activation index in the slot and pushed it forward. "Mom it's on whatever your going to do, do it now."

Emily slapped a fresh magazine into her assault rifle as Padmé fired her blaster at Durge, with little affect. "EVERYONE, UP AGAINST THE WALL!" she shouted.

"Why?" asked Padmé "What's going on?"

"No time!" shouted Emily "Just do it!" Padmé and Emily pressed their backs against the backs against the side of the tunnel that they were in, Core floating right above them. Durge snarled at he aimed his blasters at them, only to have Padmé and Emily shoot one hand off, and Core fry the other one. Durge let out s snarl as he took a step back. As he did so, a strange, almost silent humming filled the room. Durge paused, puzzled, and looked down the tunnel to the side where the noise was coming from. He looked just in time to see a blinding flash of white light, before it engulfed him, destroying every last cell in his body in the blink of an eye, so fast his brain didn't even have time to register it.

"Ok Amber that's good, turn in off!" Emily shouted into her com unit. A few seconds later, the energy levels died down, Amber had removed the activation index. "Well," said Emily as Padmé leaned against against the wall and slide down till she was sitting "That went well."

"Yeah." said Padmé breathlessly "It did." She looked up at Emily "Hey, can ask you a question?" Emily nodded. "What was giving birth like?"

"Why do you ask? I mean-wait a minute," said Emily walking over to Padmé "Lift up your shirt."

"Why?" asked Padmé a little to quickly "What could you possible gain from me..."

"Lift. Up. Your. Shirt." said Emily putting emphasis on each word. Padmé let out a sigh as she dropped her blaster to the side, grabbed a fold of her shirt with each hand, and pulled her shirt up, revealing her stomach. There was a small lump in it. "Yeah, I thought so," said Emily "Who's the dad?"

Padmé blushed as she let her shirt fall back into it's proper place. "Anakin," she muttered.

"The guy with the mechanical arm?" asked Emily Padmé nodded. "Not bad," said Emily.

"You have to keep it a secret," said Padmé "If anyone finds out both of us could get into more trouble than we could imagine. But with your son and Ahsoka, I imagine your accustomed to keeping secrets."

"How the hell did you know about that?" asked Emily.

"Oh, Jen told me," replied Padmé.

"The SPARTAN knows? Not exactly much of a secret." Both women laughed.

Obi-Wan and Anakin ran down a corridor, light sabers at the ready. "How do you think the others are holding up master?" Anakin asked as they ran.

"They'll be able to hold their own Anakin, right now we need to focus on what we're doing." They continued to run down the hallway, when Obi-Wan placed his hand in front of Anakin as they both stopped. "Do you sense that?" he asked.

"Yes," said Anakin, as both Jedi ignited their light sabers.

"Master Kenobi, Skywalker," said Dooku as he walked out of the darkness, his red light saber ignited "How nice for you to be able to join me."

"Dooku," said Anakin "You won't escape this time."

"Yes,yes you will try," said Dooku.

"I'll do more than that," said Anakin as he charged at Dooku, swinging his light saber as Dooku raised his light saber to block it.

"So," said Ventress, Aaron still in her iron grip "What's it going to be?" Ahsoka could feel her rage flooding through her, she wasn't sure how much longer she could control it. Her hands were beginning to shake slightly, causing her light saber to wobble. Unfortunately Ventress noticed. "Ah what's the matter? she asked tauntingly. She looked as if she was going to continue, when she glanced at Jen and realized that Jen was nowhere near as upset as Ahsoka. She looked from Ahsoka to Aaron, who was barely conscious at this point, and a look of realization broke across her face. "Ah I see," she said "Just worried about your boyfriend are you?" Ahsoka's eyebrow twitched. For a fraction of a second, her eyes, flashed a sickly shade of yellow.

Using the Force to propel her body to unreal speeds Ahsoka took one hand off of her light saber and slammed her fist into Ventress' face. Not having expected the blow, Ventress was caught off guard. She was forced back, losing her grip on both of her light sabers and Aaron. Ahsoka grabbed the light saber that was lodged in Aaron's chest, and removed it quickly but carefully, as not to cause any damage. Aaron staggered slightly as the light saber was removed, then fell to the ground, completely unconscious. Seeing Ventress staggering to her feet, Ahsoka felt rage spike through her again. Grabbing Ventress by her throat, Ahsoka slammed her against the wall, holding her light saber to her throat. "Give me a reason," Ahsoka hissed "Give me a reason I shouldn't cut your head off."

Ventress didn't reply, but simply stared into Ahsoka's eyes cold fury etched across her face. Out of the corner of her eye, Ahsoka saw Jen treating to Aaron's wounds. Aaron might make it, the question was, what was Ahsoka going to do with Ventress?

Always leave them wanting more, which is why I'm going to leave it here. Wow 60,000 words and counting, this is my longest and most successful story yet. well keep reading, keep asking questions, and keep reviewing. see you next time.


	25. Always there for you

Chapter 25

Always there for you

"So how far along are you?" Emily asked, looking at Padmé.

"I'm not quite sure," said Padmé "Around four or five months. I don't exactly know the exact time of conception so it's hard to tell."

"Hm," said Emily "Well, we should probably get out of here."

"I believe I may have a solution for that," said Core "I have been using my uplink to this Instillation's database to download what information has not been corrupted. Among what I downloaded was schematics of this area, and I have found a path that will take us to where your son went Emily. If we leave now we should be able to get there in a matter of minutes."

"Well then," said Emily smiling "Let's go."

In the firing room, Amber looked at the activation index in her hand. "Any idea on what I should do with this?" she asked looking at Aayla over her shoulder.

"Not really," she replied "I know next to nothing about it, Vadmare?"

Vadmare stared blankly at the corpse of Salvation. As if he was coming out of a trance, he got to his feet, looking at Amber and said "Keep it, we'll see what Admiral Hanson wants to do with it, he's technically the one in charge here." Amber nodded, as she and Aayla looked at Vadmare. Something was off about him, the normally cold aura he had around himself no longer seemed to be present. Vadmare walked over to his dropped weapons, attached his energy sword to his side, and picked up both of his plasma rifles.

"Vadmare, are you alright?" asked Aayla a concerned look on her face.

"I have no idea," he replied, as he began to walk out of the room. Aayla and Amber looked at each other. They made to follow Vadmare, when Aayla came to a sudden stop.

"What is it?" asked Amber stopping face Aayla.

"I sense a disturbance in the Force," Aayla said warily "But I don't know where it is originating from."

Amber frowned "You know I've had enough of this ring to last me a lifetime, what do you say we get off it?"

"That may be for the best," said Aayla, as she and Amber began to follow Vadmare.

"Just a little further," said Core as he floated down a hallway, Padmé and Emily right behind him. "We should be entering the room they were pulled into right about...oh my," said Core. They had entered a wide open room and found an unconscious Aaron on the ground, who was having biofoam injected into him by Jen, who was kneeling over him. On the other side of the room, Ahsoka was holding Ventress by her throat against the wall, with her light saber against her throat.

"Emily," said Jen, looking up to see them "Padmé, Core what are you doing here?

"What the hell happened?" said Emily, a stern look coating her face.

"Aaron got stabbed by Ventress," said Jen, pointing her thumb at the Dark Jedi "Ahsoka didn't exactly take that well, as you can see. I'm not exactly sure that to say to her, I'm not sure what to say to her, I'm a SPARTAN not a negotiator."

"Is Aaron going to be alright?" Emily asked looking at her son, concern on her face.

Jen nodded "This biofoam will hold him together for about twelve hours, we'll have to get him back to one of the ships where he can get proper medical treatment."

"Good," said Emily, "Wait here," said Emily as she walked over towards were Ahsoka held Ventress against the wall. She had heard a little bit about Jedi on the trip, that information included knowledge about the Dark Side. No doubt Ahsoka was going through an extreme amount of emotional turmoil and that could cause her to be tempted by the Dark Side. 'Well,' thought Emily 'I'm not going to just stand around and let that happen.' "Ahsoka I know how you feel," she said, putting her hand on Ahsoka's should "But think about this."

Ahsoka turned her head to look at Emily, and it took all of Emily's self control to keep herself from recoiling. Ahsoka's eyes, which normally were bright blue, had a yellow tinge to them. "Emily," she said, anger thick in her voice "This witch tore Aaron's chest open, she nearly killed him. Why should I let her live?"

"Because," said Emily "Aaron wouldn't want it. I know my son, he wouldn't want you to throw away everything you worked for your entire life for him."

"You don't understand," Ahsoka said shaking her head "He's the only one who's ever cared this much for me, he's the only one who's every loved me."

"Oh boo hoo," said Ventress in a sarcastic tone "Either kill me or let me go, but don't bore me to death."

Quick as a flash, Emily drew her magnum with her free hand, pointing it at Ventress' head. Not loosing track of the conversation, Emily picked up where she left off. "Your wrong," she said.

Ahsoka blinked "What?" she said, as if she did not believe what she was hearing.

"You said Aaron was the only one who ever loved you, you're wrong," said Emily looking Ahsoka dead in the eye.

Ahsoka blinked again. "What do you mean?" she asked disbelief covering her face.

"Aaron's not the only one who loved you. Other people love you, like me." Ahsoka stared at Emily, and the woman noticed, that the yellow tinge was gone from her eyes.

"What did you say?" Ahsoka asked, her voice cracking slightly.

Emily smiled "You heard me," she said softly. "Let her go, she's not worth it." Very hesitantly, Ahsoka's thumb moved towards the button on her light saber, and pressed it. Her bright green blade retracted into her hilt, and she placed it on her belt. After that, Ahsoka raised her hand, formed a fist, and punched Ventress squarely across the face. She went limp, falling to the floor as Ahsoka released her grip on her.

Turning to face Emily completely, Ahsoka asked in a very quite voice "Did you mean it?" Holstering her magnum and putting both of her hands on Ahsoka's shoulders Emily smiled and nodded. Tears began to leak out of the corners of Ahsoka's eyes as she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around the older woman. Emily looked surprised for a few seconds, then returned the favor, holding Ahsoka tightly, as the girl buried her face into Emily's shoulder.

Back on the other side of the room, Jen smiled behind her helmet as Matthew spoke "Twice as many points when the family takes the girl into their family huh?" Jen said nothing as she threw the empty canister of biofoam to the side.

"Alright," she said "That's all I can do. He should wake up soon." Aaron gave a soft groan as he began to stir. "Speak of the devil."

"Ohhh," Aaron groaned. The biofoam, while keeping him alive, was also causing what could only be described as numb pain to course through the body parts that it was near. Decades before, they pain had been much worse. "I take it I'm still alive," he said in a strained voice.

"You managed you scrape by," said Jen "You had concentrated plasma stuck through your chest, it only made a minor hole in your left lung. The biofoam will keep you together, and even allow you to fight, but we've got to get you back to the Glorious Victory where you can get proper treatment."

"Yeah," said Aaron as he pulled himself into sitting position "That probably be for the best." Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Ahsoka and Emily hugging. "Umm, what did I miss?" he asked looking at the two.

Upon hearing his voice, Emily and Ahsoka broke away looking at him. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground again with both women hugging him so tightly, he was surprised the biofoam held. "Oh thank goodness your ok," Ahsoka whispered.

"Um," said Padmé "As sweet as this is, shouldn't we get off of this ring?" Ahsoka and the two Coltons got to their feet, Ahsoka and Emily blushing heavily.

"Um, yeah," said Emily "That would probably be a good idea."

"What do we do with her," asked Aaron pointing at the unconscious Ventress.

"I say we take her along with us," said Jen as she grabbed Ventress by the waist, throwing her over her shoulder. "Let's see if a maximum security prison on Earth can't hold her. Oh by the way," she said, picking up Ventress' light sabers and throwing them to Ahsoka who caught them "Try to keep a tighter grip on them this time.

Dooku raised his light saber to block a swipe from Anakin, and countered with a calculated precise stab. Anakin jumped back, avoiding the, and Dooku's attention was diverted when Obi-Wan made his own assault. Blocking the blow, Dooku pushed Obi-Wan back, extending his free hand, Force lighting gushing from it. Obi-Wan raised his light saber to block the lighting, as both Obi-Wan and Anakin's ear pieces beeped. "To all Allied Species forces," said Vadmare "The activation index has been secured, Halo is no longer a threat. Requesting evacuation."

Another voice responded "Admiral Hanson here, three Pelicans are on route for evacuation. ETA fifteen minutes."

"Give it up Dooku," said Anakin as he slowly circled the Sith, looking for an opening "You've lost, this ring is useless now. It won't fire."

Dooku smiled "Did you think that this outcome was not planned for? My master has a backup plan that will turn this loss into a victory."

"What are you talking about?" asked Obi-Wan, who was circling Dooku in the opposite direction that Anakin was.

"I'm sorry master Jedi, but I will not be disclosing any further information," said Dooku "Fill in the holes for yourself, if you can that is."

"Enough riddles!" Anakin shouted charged forward, swinging his light saber at Dooku's head. Dooku blocked the swipe, kicking Anakin in the chest as he did, sending Anakin staggering back. Anakin let out a snarl as he began to charge again, but stopped short as the room rocked, causing all three men to stagger.

"What was that?" said Obi-wan looking around.

At the front entrance to the firing room, Those who had been locked out were doing the best that they could to gain entrance. Johnson was swiping at the door with one of Ramore's energy swords, while Ramore swiped with the other one. Kit swung his light saber at the door, while Marticus smashed his gravity hammer into the door. Despite all of their efforts, the progress that they were making was slow, the Forerunner alloy was standing up to the assault of the blades and the gravity hammer and was failing slowly.

"You heard the transmission," said Ramore as he swung another blow at the door "When they get here they'll need to get through."

"We're going as fast as we can!" Johnson shouted "This isn't exactly tin foil you know."

"This part looks as if it is weakening," said Marticus as he struck the wall with his hammer again.

He raised the hammer to strike it again, when he heard a knocking from the other side. "HEY!" came Amber's voice "Thanks for helping weaken the wall. But now stand back, I'm going to blow it."

"You heard her," said Kit, as the four retreated a safe distance. There was a loud explosion, as Amber's explosives detonated. When the smoke cleared, a man sized hole had been made in the door. Amber, Aayla and Vadmare exited through the hole, Vadmare having to duck his head down to make it through.

"Birds are gonna be here in fifteen minutes, where are the others?" asked Johnson.

"Not sure," said Amber "I guess I'll have to-" but she was cut off as the ground shook, causing several of them to stumble. "What was that?" said Amber.

Without warning, a voice spoke into the minds of everyone. "HAHAHA _Now, the gate has been unlatched, headstones pushed aside, corpses shift and offer room; a fate you must abide!_" As the Gravemind spoke, large tentacles burst out of the ground, withdrawing quickly, leaving large holes in the ground. After the tentacles withdrew, figures began to climb out of various shape and sizes, all of them swarming towards the entrance to the activation room.

"Flood," said Johnson as he pointed his SMG at the oncoming parasites. "Exactly how many more things are going to want us dead before this war is over?

And that's the end of this chapter. I personally found the moment between Ahsoka and Emily to be sweet, but that's just me. Now then, I almost have enough questions for the F&Q but I still need one or two, so don't be afraid to ask, but do check the reviews to make sure that your question has not been asked already. As always please tell me what you think, via a review. Happy Summer.


	26. Infection

Chapter 26

Infection

Yeah I don't really have a good excuse for my lag time, I just didn't feel like writing. One of the main reasons I am writing now, is that I came up with a great to idea to add to one of my characters backstories. Aw well here you go.

Padmé, Emily, Aaron, Ahsoka and Jen all sprinted through the tunnels of Instillation 03, with Core floating overhead. "Core we could use a way out of here," said Jen, who was carrying an unconscious Ventress over her shoulder.

"Working on it," said Core. The Monitor was silent for a few seconds as he examined the data in his memory banks then said "We just need to keep following this passage for now, eventually we will find a route that will take us back to the entrance."

"I thought that you couldn't get us through," said Aaron as he glanced at the floating sphere.

"Yes well," said Core in a slightly annoyed voice "It is the most reliable way out of here, and more likely than not the others will have most likely have forced their way through. The alloy used by my makers is strong but not invincible. The estimated time to our arrival is roughly 5.32 minutes."

The group continued to spring forward, but they came to a stop as the tunnels around them shook. "What was that?" asked Ahsoka, a worried look on her face.

"I am unsure," said Core "As I have said before, many of this Instillation's systems have been disabled, including any means of observation."

"Whatever it was," said Ahsoka "I have a bad feeling about it."

High above Halo, on a _Marathon_-class Cruiser known as the _Twilight, _Admiral Hanson sat in his chair on the bridge, reading off of a holo-pad. During the infiltration team's trip to the firing room, Vadmare 'Katar had contacted him with the names and ranks of two POWs that they had rescued. Gunnery Sergeant Avery Johnson, and Sergeant Emily Colton. Of course he recognized Johnson's name, after all who didn't know about the Human-Covenant war veteran? Out of curiosity, the Admiral had gone through the UNSC database, pulling up what information that he could about the two.

As a matter of fact, he had just finished reading the report on Johnson. Most of it was information that he was familiar with, but he was surprised to find that the sergeant was a candidate in the ORION project. He supposed that that information had been declassified, but ONI hadn't gone out of their way to preach about it. ORION was still a bit of an embarrassment, the augmentations the candidates had received were even less effective than those given out in Project Olympus. What made this twice as embarrassing, was that the augmentations from Olympus were simply the augmentations from the SPARTAN III project that had been stripped down so that it would be more affordable, even if they were less effective.

The Admiral smiled to himself as he stretched in his chair. He was getting on in his years, his hair had long his gone to gray and was now on it's way to white. He never confided his age to others, but many suspected that he was in his late eighties, if not his early nineties. Hanson pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind as he glanced back at the holo-pad, which was now displaying Emily Colton's record.

As he began to read the report, his eyes widened. "Well, she's going to be helpful," he muttered to himself. "We don't have many people that have gone through that in the UNSC."

"You think after 50 years these things wouldn't be a problem anymore but nooooooo," said Johnson, irritation thick in his voice as he gunned down a Jiralhanae Combat Form. The Flood were swarming towards the entrance of the firing room. The members of the assault team present were fighting tooth and nail to hold their position, and stay alive.

"What are these things?" shouted Kit as he sliced a Tank Form in half.

"Flood!" shouted Amber as she shot a Human Combat Form "Parasitic organisms. Where the Hell did they get Humans?"

"Parasitic in what way?" shouted Aayla as she sliced a Sangheili Combat Form in half.

"They infect beings, absorbing the information in their minds!" shouted Ramore, as he shot an Infection Form with his carbine. "Don't let the small ones touch you, the infection process takes seconds!"

"What was that Gravemind thing we saw earlier, you never explained that!" shouted Aayla, as she stabbed a Stalker Form through what appeared to be it's head.

"It's the hive mind of the Flood!" shouted Marticus as he sent a dozen Flood flying with his gravity hammer. "It controls every last one of them."

Vadmare swung his energy sword with one hand, killing any Flood that came too close to him, while he pressed his other hand to his com unit. "There is a Flood infection on Halo, and it is on the move. Certain Combat Forms suggest that Allied Species troopers have already been infected. Recommend immediate destruction of this Instillation."

"'Katar!" came Admiral Hanson's voice "The Pelican's will be at your position in five minutes, when you are onboard the _Twilight _we will be able to plan a counter attack on the Flood."

"Good," snarled Vadmare.

"'Katar I must ask you, is Emily Colton with you?" asked Hanson, curiosity in his voice.

"Why?" asked Vadmare, a small tone of annoyance in his voice.

"I just learned something very interesting about her," said Hanson. "She's not your run of the mill ODST. She's rather unique."

"I'm fighting for my life down here Admiral!" shouted Vadmare, as he stabbed another Combat Form in the chest "Either tell me what you learned now or not at all!"

"You hear that?" asked Ahsoka as she and the other's sprinted through the tunnels of Halo. A sound that was comparable to light saber hitting light saber could faintly be heard.

"Yeah," said Aaron as they slowed, walking cautiously around a corner. As they rounded it, they saw Obi-Wan and Anakin fighting Count Dooku in the middle of a room with multiple exits.

"Ah, more newcomers," said Dooku as he jumped back from Anakin and Obi-Wan, landing on the far side of the room, away from everyone else. "How nice for you to join us," he said politely, even bowing slightly.

"Spare us," said Emily, a look of disgust on her face. "From what I've heard about you, you Sith are all the same, you love nothing better than killing, torturing, and using whatever is necessary to accomplish your goals."

"Now, now," said Dooku "That may be true for Ventress but it could not be more false for me and my master. We do not torture, and we only kill when necessary. Though I do suppose you are right when you said what we will go to any means to accomplish our goals, and make no mistake, we will succeed."

Jen registered that Ventress was beginning to stir slightly. Making a mental note to hit her over the head again so that she wouldn't cause any trouble, Jen reached for the light saber she had taken from Grievous. It wasn't there. Jen barely had any time to think about this when she felt Ventress' hands tighten on her armor and felt the Dark Jedi swing around. Jen was caught completely off guard and Ventress' feet slammed into her face. Jen staggered back, and fell over. Ventress landed neatly, activating the light saber she had force grabbed from Jen, and charged at the downed SPARTAN, who was still dazed from the blow.

Without really thinking, Emily stepped in between Ventress and Jen, and swung her rifle at Ventress, as if she intended to slam her in the stomach with it. To Ventress' great surprise, it connected. The blow from the rile forced the air out of her lungs, but she was given no relief, as Emily brought a crescent kick up to meet Ventress' face. The Dark Jedi staggered back, keeping a firm hold on her light saber, recovering rather quickly as standing in a fighting stance, ignoring the trickle of blood that was leaking out of her mouth.

"Emily," said Ahsoka, a look of shock on her face "Exactly how did you do that without getting killed?"

As Jen got to her feet, drawing her katana as she did so, Emily glanced around the room and saw that nearly everyone was looking at her with expressions of shock and disbelief on their faces. Aaron's was easily the most pronounced. Emily sighed "There's certain things that only a few people know about me," she said readjusting her rifle so that she was holding it properly. "I'll explain everything when we get out of here." He looked Aaron directly in the eye during the last sentence. The "You and Amber deserve to know," passed between them without words.

"Ventress," said Dooku, walking forward so that he stood behind Ventress "How serious are your injuries?"

"What do you care?" she snapped, anger flashing across her face.

"I was just wondering If I still needed to care of this." Before anyone could blink, Dooku thrust his light saber forward, peircing Ventress' chest. She did not cry out in pain as everyone has expected, instead, shock spread over her face as Dooku removed his light saber, and she fell to the ground. "Now that that is taken care of I really must bid you fare well," said dooku as he turned around and began to flee down one of the rooms exits.

"After him!" shouted Anakin as be began to run forward, only to be stopped by Aaron's extended hand. "What?" he said looking at Aaron who had but his hand to his helmet.

"I'm getting a transmission," said Aaron as he listened to Ramore's voice.

"Aaron where the devil are you?" said the Sangheili in a hot voice "Pelicans will be arriving to pick us up in a matter of minutes. Flood are swarming us and if you don't get here soon, we'll have to leave you behind."

"FLOOD?" shouted Aaron "They're on the loose?"

"Yes they are," said Ramore "So long as it doesn't threaten your life, drop whatever it is you are doing and get out here now!"

"Got it," said Aaron as he lowered his hand and looked at the others. "The Flood are on the loose, and evacuation birds are going to be arriving in a few minutes. If we're not there they're going to leave us behind, there's no time to go after Dooku." He glanced at Anakin "We'll have to get him another day." Anakin grunted as Aaron lowered his hand.

Jen walked over to Ventress, taking the light saber out of her hand. Pausing, Jen felt the side of Ventress' neck. "She's still breathing," she said looking at the others "What should we do with her?"

"Maybe we should leave her here," said Anakin "She'd only slow us down."

"I don't think that would be a good idea," said Aaron.

"I agree," said Emily "The Flood are parasitic organisms that can infect any organic being, and can learn all of the information that they know."

"But she'll be dead in a few minutes," said Anakin.

"That doesn't matter," said Aaron "The Flood are fully capable of infecting corpses. I don't know about you but I don't want a Ventress Combat Form running around. We take her with us. Besides, no one deserves to be infected by the Flood."

"What do you mean no one deserves it?" asked Obi-Wan "What's so horrible about it?"

"There have been some nasty reports," said Aaron. "Medical scan of corpses show that, while you are infected, you are still fully conscious even though you no longer control your body. From what I've also heard, being infected is very painful. That means you have to spend the rest of your existence in unbelievable pain, unable to do anything until you finally die, God knows how long that'll take. No one deserves that, no one."

Emily looked at her son and nodded, as something at resembled pride shot across her face. This woman had nearly killed Aaron, yet here he was saying that they should save her from a fate that could be classified as worse than death. Ahsoka was also starring at Aaron, with what only could be described as pure affection stretched across her face. "Alright then," said Jen as she again hoisted Ventress over her shoulder. "Core which way?"

Well there you go, nothing major, just a basic piece of plot, as always tell me what you think, and remember I'm still taking questions for the F&Q which I am going to do soon, so hurry up.


	27. Emily's Story

Chapter 27

Emily's Story

I decided I'm going to post the F&Q when The Halo events come to a close and FYI that's right around the corner, don't forget to ask your questions. Oh and to everyone who has already asked a question(s) I will answer your question to the best of my ability, that I can do without giving away spoilers. Well enjoy, I gotta say I'm really proud of this one.

"I'm running low on ammo here!" shouted Johnson as he slapped another clip into his SMG. "Where the Hell are those Pelicans? We aren't going to last much longer down here!" The Flood were continuing to flow towards them, and instead of their numbers thinning under the losses that they were taking, even more seemed to be emerging from the holes. It seemed that they didn't care how many they lost in their charge, they were determined to take the firing room.

"They'll be here," shouted Ramore, who had run out of ammunition for his carbine as was now swinging his energy swords, ignoring the gash in his side.

"They had better be!" shouted Vadmare, as he swung his own energy sword while firing one of his plasma rifles with his free hand. "We didn't come this far just to be killed by a late pick up!" As the last handful of Flood that were currently on top of the hill fell, the assault team members looked around. The Flood seemed to be gathering at the base of the hill.

"Oh boy," said Amber, fear faintly present in her voice "Looks like they're gathering for one hell of a charge." As she said this, she checked the ammunition present in her shotgun "And I've got five shells left."

"Anyone have an idea?" asked Marticus looking at the others, several small scratches and other minor wounds present on his face and hands. "Because if you do I'm listening."

"Look!" shouted Aayla, pointing towards the sky. Everybody looked up to see three Pelicans heading for their position. As the drew closer, they fired a barrage of rockets at the swarm of Flood at the base of the hill. The Flood scattered, countless forms of all types were thrown in the air by the force of the explosions. The Pelicans slowed as the hovered over the hill, the rear doors opening.

"Everyone here?" asked a Marine who was manning the machine gun turret of the far right Pelican as Marticus, Ramore, Vadmare and Johnson all climbed aboard that particular Pelican.

"No," said Vadmare as Kit and Aayla climbed onto the second Pelican "A couple of people are still inside."

"We can't stay here much longer," said the Marine "We need to get out of here before the Flood tare us apart."

"You. Will. Wait." said Vadmare in an eerily calm voice. The Marine glanced at Vadmare for three seconds before he turned his attention back to his turret. He knew better than to provoke an angry Sangheili, especially one with a rank as high as Vadmare's.

"Come on," Amber whispered to herself as she paused at the entrance to the third Pelican looking at the entrance to the firing room. "Mom, Aaron, Ahsoka, Padmé, Core, Jen, Obi-Wan, Anakin." A small smile appeared on her face. "Come on you can do it." As if her words had triggered some sort of response, all eight of the remaining assault team members came pouring out. Jen, who was carrying Ventress over her shoulder, made an impressive jump towards the first Pelican, landing as the door began to close, due to the fact that the Pelican was full. Despite this, Core still managed to slip in before the door closed.

Obi-wan, Anakin and Padmé clambered onto the second Pelican as the doors slid shut due to the fact that it was full, leaving only one Pelican left for Aaron, Emily and Ahsoka. The Coltons made it to the third Pelican, and Ahsoka was only a few fee away when the dropship began to wobble, and drift forward. A Marine Combat Form had fired a rocket launcher that had hit the underbelly of the Pelican. The Pelican's design had been upgraded since the years of the Human-Covenant war to take more strain, yet the impact of the rocket caused the Pelican to go off course, putting several yards between the hill were Ahsoka was, and safety.

Not losing hope, and noticing out of the corner of her eye that the Flood had recovered from the rocket bombardment and were making their assault, Ahsoka ran as fast as her feet and the Force would carry her, and jumped. She soared through the air, heading straight for the Pelican, but she realized, with a pang of panic, that she would not travel far enough to reach the door. But then Ahsoka noticed Amber's outstretched hand and extended her own hand to meet it. Amber's fingers locked around Ahsoka's hand pulling her in in the Pelican, as the door closed behind her. "Oh my...for the love of..." Ahsoka said trying to catch her breath as she leaned against the side of the Pelican "Please tell me we're done here."

"Well we have the activation index," said Amber "So nearly."

Ahsoka nodded at her "Oh and thanks," she said, smiling slightly.

"Don't mention it," Amber replied returning the smile.

Emily glanced at the Marine who had been manning the turret a few seconds ago, as the Pelicans sped away to safety. "Pardon me, can you give us some privacy."

"Huh?" said the Marine turning around to face Emily "Oh sure, after what you just did, privacy is the least I can give you, I mean you guys just went on what could be classified as a suicided mission." Grinning, the Marine walked into the pilot's cabin, closing the door behind him.

"Um, Amber, Aaron," said Emily, sitting down as she looked at her children "There's something I need to tell you, Ahsoka you deserve to hear this too," The three of them glanced at each other briefly before sitting down across from Emily. "You've heard stories about the Human-Covenant war right?" she asked. All three of them nodded, Aaron and Amber had told Ahsoka about it during their free time. "Well, I have a confession to make," she said "I served in the Human-Covenant."

"How is that possible?" Amber interrupted "Mom you were born in 2542, that means when the war ended you were 10. The UNSC didn't recruit children for active combat, except for the..." Amber's voice trailed off as her eyes widened.

"Mom," said Aaron quietly "Are you telling us that you were a..." He fell silent as Emily removed the plate covering her right forearm, letting it fall to the ground as she displayed her bare forearm to everyone in the cabin. There was a tattoo on it of the Roman numeral III in a dark green shade.

"Yeah," she said softly "I'm a SPARTAN III." Nobody spoke as all three of the young adults looked at Emily.

"Wait," said Ahsoka "That war ended 45 years ago, I don't mean to be rude, but how old are you? You look like you're in your late twenties."

Emily let out a small chuckle "I'll take that as a complement." she said "In reality I'm about 56, but I feel like I'm a 42 year old, probably because of the 14 years I spend in that pod, my body didn't age in that time. I imagine a managed to avoid to avoid aging another year or two with cryo stasis I spent while I was in the military. But in reality the real reason I look so young is a unique mutation I got when I got my genetic augmentations. Back then augmentations were highly experimental people didn't understand them 100%, and something happened to me. Whatever happened I always aged slower than the other recruits, nothing too noticeable though it was something like for every year, I only age ten months. I guess there's also a bit of luck involved too, but in reality all of that is the reason why I look the way I do now."

"I hope you don't mind if I find this a little hard to take in all at once," said Aaron, as he took his helmet off, Amber mimicking his move.

"I would be surprised if you didn't," said Emily smiling grimly.

"Why did you become a SPARTAN?" asked Amber.

"The million dollar question," said Emily "When I was five, in 2547, the Covenant, invaded Skopje, the planet that I lived on. My father was a Marine stationed there, my mother had left the year before, I can't remember her very well, but she was always drinking, and I don't recall her being very pleasant. Anyway when the Covenant invaded, he was suiting up, getting ready to deploy, when all of a sudden there was deafening explosion, Seraph fighters were bombing the area to soften up the resistance. It destroyed our house, blew half of it to heck. I found my father in the ruins." Emily looked at the ground "He wasn't breathing," she said, her voice cracking slightly.

Ahsoka simply stared at Emily. Emily telling her how her father died reminded her so much of how Aaron had confided his secrets to her, it was a little scary. Now that she thought back, no one else had ever shared these kinds of secrets with her until she had comforted Aaron. 'Is this what it means to be loved by someone?' she thought. 'To be able to trust someone with everything you hold dear?' She would not deny that she loved Aaron with all of her heart, she was also developing family like love towards Emily, and even Amber, but at that point Ahsoka realized that she had only scratched the surface.

"Other Marines grabbed me and took me to a Pelican." Emily continued We docked with a ship that was carrying refuges and we made a jump for slip space, heading for Reach. But the Marines didn't take me to where the other refugees were, they took me to a small room with an ONI agent. He told me that humanity was losing the war against the Covenant, they were systematically destroying us. He told me I could help stop them, by joining the SPARTAN III project. He didn't force me to do it, he said it was my choice. I was going to say no, but then I noticed that my hands were covered in blood. My father's blood. After looking at him for a few seconds, I told the ONI agent I would do it."

"After we got to Reach, the agent took me to another ship traveling to Onyx, and put me in cryostasis. When I was thawed out, me and around 400 other kids were taken into a facilities. They spend the next three years training us, then they gave us our augmentations." Emily shook her head "God I can't remember the last time I felt that much pain, the closest I can come to describing it is...like the inside of my bones were on fire. After that they shipped us out to fight, giving us SPI armor that actually fitted us. I imagine we looked ridiculous, kids wearing armor, holding rifles that were as nearly as long as we were. They called us Delta Company, the fourth generation of SPARTAN IIIs and they called me Emily-D445. Don't be mistaken, from what I heard, the SPARTANs of Gamma Company were much more effective. They rushed us, they needed SPARTANS on the front lines as soon as possible. It was 2550 when we were deployed, and things were even worse."

Emily's audience was completely horrorstruck as Emily continued to talk. "It's a little bit of a blur after that, I recall we were deployed quite a few times, and a lot of us died, in fact by the time Reach fell, only 100 of us were left. The ship we were on was heading towards Earth so we could assist in the battle when we got the word. The war was over. High Charity was destroyed and Truth was dead. Without the Prophets to lead it, revolution sparked across the Covenant in addition to the Great Schism that ended in it being dissolved in 2557."

"What happened to you after that?" asked Ahsoka quietly.

"They gave all of us a speech on how we had helped humanity survive, gave us medals, and sent us off to live 'normal' lives." said Emily bitterly. There was just one problem. I had no idea how to I had no idea what I was supposed to do with myself. I had spent half of my life in the military, it was what I was used to. I went to school and stuff, I actually did pretty well in terms of grades, but I didn't know how to talk to anyone. I guess in High School a couple of punks thought that they would jump me because they thought I was an easy target."

"How did that end up?" asked Aaron.

"I...nearly killed them," said Emily slowly. "Nobody would come near me after that. I couldn't stand it anymore, not knowing what to do at all. So the second I turned 18 I enlisted in the military again. For awhile I was sort of happy, I felt like I had a purpose in life, but I still couldn't talk to people. I was used to being around people I had known for years, that I had trained with, fought with. I thought things would never really get better for me. Then the war with Salvation broke out and I was transferred to a new squad that was being deployed to the front lines." A smile reached Emily's lips "That was easily the best thing that happened to me in my life. In that squad there was a trooper that they called the Rookie. He could talk but he chose not to, he was shell shocked from the Battle of New Jerusalem, he was the only survivor from it. He actually said nothing to his squad mates, he just nodded, shook his head, and pointed, they didn't even know his name."

"During one battle the two off us got separated from the others and we had to rely on each other to stay alive until the others got there with reinforcements. A Chieftain attacked me from behind, and I didn't see it. The Rookie shouting for me to get out of the way was the first time I ever heard him talk. Eventually the rest of the squad got to our position and we were able to push the Extremists back, thank God it wasn't a full invasion force. The Rookie and I stared talking to each other after that, he actually told me his name."

"What is it?" asked Ahsoka, only vaguely registering that she was leaning forward in her seat, as were Aaron and Amber.

"James," said Emily "James Dante," an almost silly grin spread across Emily's face as she said this. "And let me tell you something, James helped me, he taught me what the purpose of life is."

"And that would be?" asked Amber.

"Life doesn't have a purpose," said Emily "But we live it anyway to get the most that we can out of it. After the war ended we all went our separate ways and...well you know how it went from there. I settled down, got married, had two beautiful children, and kicked my deadbeat husband out. I just hope that none of you think any less of me now that you know this," said Emily as she stood up. There was an almost pleading tone in her voice as she looked at Aaron, Ahsoka, and Amber. "If can't look at me the same way that I under..." Emily was cut off before she could finish her sentence. Aaron, Amber, and Ahsoka had all tried to hug her at once resulting in a group hug.

As Emily returned the hug to the best of her abilities Amber said "I don't know if you noticed mom, but we're not exactly a normal bunch, Aaron and I are both augmented troopers, and Ahsoka can use telekinesis because she has bacteria in her cells. You're a SPARTAN, so what, so what if we're a bit weird as a family." Amber spotted Ahsoka looked at her. Amber grinned "Yeah I'm talking about you too." Ahsoka smiled.

Emily looked at the three standing before her. "I...," she said weakly "Thank you."

Well that chapter ran a little longer than I expected, I guess when I got typing about Emily I really had a lot to write, Well tell me what you think, oh and FYI I based the Rookie's name off of theories other players developed.


	28. Strategy

Chapter 28

Strategy

Hey just because I'm bored I want to ask you guys something. Which do you think has a better soundtrack/ theme music Halo or Star Wars? Personally I like Star Wars, but Halo is hard to too, So tell me your personal opinion. Anyway here you go.

Admiral Hanson let out a sigh as he got up from his captain's chair. Standing before him, on the other end of a holographic projector, shaped as a table, stood Vadmare 'Katar, Aayla Secura, Kit Fisto, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Pelicans carrying the assault team had docked with the _Twilight_ twenty minutes ago, and he was briefing with the other commanders. "Evacuation of Allied Species forces is commencing throughout the Halo, drop ships are getting as many people and troopers out of there as they can, but it'll be a little bit before we're all off."

"Even if we successfully evacuate every last trooper," said Vadmare "The fact remains that this ring is still infested with Flood. We can not allow them to continue existing Admiral, if we do it will only be a matter of time before they find a way off."

"I agree," said Hanson "I saw the glassing of Africa, I'm not keen to have to do something like that again. Luckily, I have a plan." Hanson pressed a button on the projection table and a hologram of Halo appeared. The hologram zoomed in, focusing on one particular area. "Right before the Flood made their move," said Hanson "One of our demolition teams destroyed one of the generators that was sustaining that shield, creating a small gap in the shield. If we fire a NOVA bomb through that gap and then detonate it, it should destroy both Halo and they Flood."

"I beg your pardon," said a voice that came from directly above Hanson. The Admiral gave a little jump and looked up to see Core floating above him. "Oh, my apologies," said Core as he floating down to eye level with Hanson "I did not mean to startle you. Allow me to introduce myself, I am 49 Unifying Core, Monitor of Instillation 03. If I may ask, what is this NOVA bomb? Are you sure that it will be powerful enough to destroy Halo? No...wait I shall check." Core became silent as he began to access the databanks of the _Twilight_.

"You never told me you were bringing the Monitor back with you," said Hanson, looking at Vadmare.

"Slipped my mind," said Vadmare dismissively.

"Ah yes," said Core, having just finished sweeping through the databanks "A NOVA bomb should be adequate to destroy the Instillation, which is most effective way to neutralize this infestation."

"And you have no problems with that?" asked Hanson, looking at Core.

"Why would I?" asked Core, a puzzled tone in his voice.

"The last Monitor we encountered didn't take it very well when we tried to destroy his Instillation," said Hanson "He tried to kill the personal that attempted to do so."

"He did?" asked Core, surprise thick in his voice "If that was in his protocols, then I am glad that mine were deleted."

"Alright then," said Hanson, turning back to the holographic projector. "Evacuation should be complete in approximately half an hour, when it is complete we will deploy the NOVA bomb. Fortunately as a Marathon class Cruiser the _Twilight _is equipped with one

"What is that supposed to do?" asked Ahsoka. She was sitting, along with the Coltons, in the _Twilight_'s medical bay, around a bed that an unconscious Ventress was lying on. Aaron was injecting her with some sort of substance, now that her wound had been taken care of.

"It's just a sedative," said Aaron. "It's going to keep her out, after all we don't want to wake up and tear the ship in half would we?" After he had gotten back on board, a Huragok had healed his wound, and he had replaced his damaged ODST armor, with a fresh set.

"No we would not," said Amber a grimace flashing across her face.

As Aaron emptied the syringe, he placed it on a nearby table and glanced at Ventress. "It's weird," said Ahsoka looking at Ventress "She looks so peaceful right now, nothing like a killer."

"You said that that Dark Side thing corrupts you right?" asked Emily "Maybe she wasn't always like this. Maybe something happened to her to make her the way she is."

"Maybe," said Ahsoka, remembering how her anger had nearly gotten the better of her, and wondering if Ventress had ever lost someone close to her.

Ahsoka's line of thoughts was broken as one of the doors to the medical bay opened, and a woman in a naval officer's uniform walked in. "Is it true that Asajj Ventress was taken prisoner?" she asked, glancing at Ventress. Everyone nodded. "Hanson sent me in to check on her. Is there any chance that she will be a threat?" she asked a hint of fear in her voice.

"I don't think so," said Aaron "A Huragok just took care of her wounds so she should be out for awhile. Just in case thought she's pretty heavily sedated, so we shouldn't have to worry about it."

"Oh good," said the woman taking her hat off, revealing her cropped red hair, and rubbing her forehead. "By the way your voice sounds a little familiar, have we met before?"

"Maybe," said Amber getting up from her seat and walking towards the officer. "You do look a little familiar. Where were you stationed before you were on...Nicole? Is that you?"

Nicole blinked. "Amber? Oh my God it's you." Both women exchanged a brief hug before breaking away.

"Nicole?" said Aaron, glancing at the woman. "When did you join the UNSC?

"Aaron?" said Nicole looking at Aaron. "You're here too."

"You guys know each other?" asked Emily glancing from Aaron, to Amber and Nicole.

"We went to High School together mom," said Aaron.

"Mom?" said Nicole "I thought your mother was dead," she said glancing at Amber. "Didn't you tell me that Extremists raided your house and dragged her...my God, she was one of the POWs on the ring wasn't she?"

"As sharp as ever," said Aaron a smile spreading across her face. "So Nicole when did you join up?"

"A couple of months after you did," said Nicole, rubbing the back of her head in apparent embarrassment. "I didn't think I make it as a Marine so I joined the Navy. Apparently that was a pretty good choice, I fit in here pretty well, I'm already a Lieutenant."

Emily blinked "An officer in your first couple years of service, that's very impressive."

"Um thank you Ms. Colton," said Nicole who continued to rub the back of her neck.

"Please call me Emily," said the SPARTAN III smiling. "Ms. makes me feel old, you know that old line."

"Oh trust me," said Nicole laughing slightly "I know better than to make people feel old. Admiral Hanson is a pretty nice guy, but for the love of God, never call him old man."

"What happens if you call him old man?" asked Ahsoka, a curious look on her face.

"He gets mad, really mad," said Nicole "It really does not do any good for your life expectancy."

Ahsoka gave a small laugh "I would love to see what happens to someone who fails to remember that. I'm Ahsoka by the way," she said getting up and holding out her hand to Nicole "Ahsoka Tano."

"Nicole Richards," said Nicole, taking Ahsoka's hand and shaking it. "How long have you know the Coltons?"

"I met Aaron when the war began, Amber when I was stationed on the Glorious Victory, and Emily just today. You said you went to school with them?"

"Yeah," said Nicole, rubbing the back of her head again "Amber and I were really close."

"That's an understatement," said Aaron "I've rarely seen any two people get along so well. Seriously they were like sisters."

"I guess," Nicole said, blushing slightly. "So..." she said as if she was searching for a conversation topic "It's hard to believe it isn't it, Halo I mean."

"I know what you mean," said Aaron. "It kind of feels like numb shock. Like a dream, you see it right in front of you but you're mind refuses to accept it. So Nicole where have you been during the war?"

"Well," said Nicole "The Admiral led an attack group against a CIS controlled planet. We were able to crack it's orbital defenses without too much trouble, but we lost a lot of good people on the ground." She let out a said sigh. "We had just finished get fresh soldiers to replace our losses when we got the word that the Extremists were at large again. But nothing I've seen tops what's going on here. Seriously, Flood?"

"I know," said Amber "It's like something out of a nightmare. By the way, what are 'Katar, and Hanson going to do?"

"Last I heard they were putting a plan together," said Nicole. "Whatever they're doing they better do it fast, the _Twilight _took some heavy hits in the fight, our shield generations got fried and we're nearly out of Archer missiles. The _Glorious Victory _took a beating to, from what I've seen some of the plating was starting to buckle. If the Extremist flagship didn't explode, we wouldn't have any survivors." Nicole frowned "We still don't know how that happened."

"Oh Emily did that," said Ahsoka, gesturing at the eldest Colton.

"You did?" said Nicole, staring wide eyed and Emily.

"Um, yeah," Emily, looking back at Nicole "Why?"

"I think Hanson will want to see you," Nicole said as a grin broke across her face.

Back on the bridge, Hanson was still talking to the other commanders. "We will have to confirm the destruction of Halo and the Flood," said Vadmare. "A ship will have to return to scan for any life signs after the bomb as detonated."

"I agree," said Hanson "It is a basic precaution that would be foolish to overlook. As soon as evacuation is completed we will deploy the NOVA and...what is that noise?" Everyone became silent as they listened. A very low-pitched whining filled the bridge, only hearable due to the fact there was complete silence.

"Where is it coming from?" asked Aayla as she looked around trying to find the source of the noise.

"It's coming from my com unit," said Vadmare, gesturing to it. Almost the second he said this, the whirring stopped.

"What was that about?" asked Obi-Wan.

"I'm not sure," said Hanson "Com units rarely do that, when they do it is usually of a sign of an amateur attempting to bug...com...units." Everyone was silent as Hanson spoke two words. "Well fuck."

"What does that mean?" asked Kit "Were the CIS eavesdropping on us?

"If we were extremely lucky," said Vadmare, his tone eerily steady.

"And if we aren't?" asked Aayla, a look of horror on her face that suggested she already knew the answer."

"The Flood used a captured com unit to hack the Battle-Net and listen in on our plan," said Vadmare, not making eye contact "If they know that we plan to wipe them out they will most likely make moves to stop us."

"Evacuations will still take twenty minutes to finish getting all military personal off of Halo," said Hanson, taking another look at the holographic projector. "Until then we can't deploy the NOVA bomb."

"What could they possible do to stop us from the ground?" asked Obi-Wan. No sooner had the words left his mouth, than the Twilight began to shake.

"Admiral!" shouted an Ensign at one of the many terminals on the bridge. "We just got a positive visual on the Gravemind. I don't know how it's doing it, but it's throwing Flood dispersal pods at the _Twilight_! We've already got confirmation of Flood on the outer hull.

"You simply had to ask, didn't you?" asked Vadmare, staring at Obi-Wan with something similar to annoyance in his eyes.

"All_ Twilight_ personal!" shouted Hanson, reaching for a communicator in his left ear. "Flood are attempting to board us, repeat Flood are attempting to board us. Stop them from gaining control of this ship by whatever means are necessary." Hanson let out a frustrated groan as he let his hand fall from his com unit. "You have to hand it to the Flood," he said "They're persistent bastards.

All three Jedi ignited their light sabers, as Vadmare activated his energy sword. "We will remove the infection immediately," said Core flying so that he floated above the Jedi.

"Yes you will," said Hanson, as he walked to the side of the room, and opened a cabinet. "But not without me you aren't," he said as he pulled a rocket launcher, and several reload cases. "I'll be dammed if I'm not going to defend my own God damn ship," he said angrily.

Something resembling a grin slithered across Vadmare's face. "Fair enough," he said.

wow 70k words, this story will break 100k easy, because, after all, I still have so much more to work with, aw well, enjoy and tell me what you think. By the way, please answer the question at the top, if you feel like it that is.


	29. Fight or Die

Chapter 29

Fight or Die

I haven't had time for writing for a bit, and for good reason too, I had to go to my grandmother's funeral. Please don't try to comfort me I'm fine, and without further ado, here you go. By the way does, anyone else get extremely annoyed at how everyone charges with the shotgun in Gears of War 2 multiplayer?

"Is this safe?" Johnson asked with a worried look on his face. He was standing in the middle of the _Twilight_'s gym watching Jen, who was still wearing her armor, spar with Anakin in the boxing ring. "I mean seriously," said Johnson, looking at, Ramore who was standing nearby, along with Marticus and Padmé. Marticus didn't answer him, do to the fact that a Huragok was running it's tentacles all over his newly acquired Chieftain armor. Apparently Garnigus had not done much to maintain his armor over the years and several pieces of it had ceased to function, such as the shield overcharge that Chieftains often used. The Huragok removed it's tentacles from Marticus' armor, which now looked brand new, and floated away, silently.

"Be at ease," said Ramore in a calm voice to Johnson. "This is not the first time that they have done this, and nobody was injured the first time either."

"Still," said Johnson, glancing at the ring to see Jen's katana meet Anakin's light saber. "We don't need anyone dead, and with one of these new SPARTANs fighting one of these Jedi guys, it's fully possible we might end up with that."

"I don't think we need to worry about that," said Padmé as she watched the sparing. "They wouldn't do anything to hurt each other."

Johnson looked like he was about to say something when the ship shook, causing everyone to stumble. "Ok what the Hell was that?" he asked as he straightened himself.

He got his answer when Admiral Hanson's voice blared out of the loudspeakers and every last com unit throughout the_ Twilight_. "All_ Twilight_ personal, Flood are attempting to board us, repeat Flood are attempting to board us. Stop them from gaining control of this ship by whatever means are necessary!"

"Well," said Johnson as he pulled his gun off of the strap on his back. When he had come aboard the _Twilight_ he had stopped by the armory and picked up a battle rifle, right after returning Amber's SMG to her. "These little mutants just won't quit won't they?"

"Apparently not," said Ramore, as he activated both of his energy swords, and Marticus brandished his hammer.

"Let them come," the former Minor roared, now a Chieftain due to the fact he had killed one, effectively "stealing" his rank. "I wish to test my new armor's capabilities.

Back in the medical bay the Coltons had drawn their weapons, and were pointing them at the door. "What should we do with her?" Aaron asked, gesturing at Ventress "If she gets infected by the Flood we're all fucked."

"I don't know," said Nicole, who had drawn a magnum from a holster at her side and was now pointing it at the door.

"We should just hold this position," said Emily "if we try to move her we'll have at least one person who can't use their weapon, we have a better chance if we dig in here."

"Sounds like a plan," said Amber as she overturned a table, using it as make shift barricade.

Ahsoka ignited her light saber as the five of them faced the door. "All right," said Ahsoka as she looked at the door. There was distant explosion and the sound of gunfire, as everyone tensed their grip on their weapons.

As they waited for the Flood to make their move a voice spoke over the Battle-Net. "Ok, we have the emergency field generators online, they won't keep the Flood out but they'll keep the ship from decompressing. I doubt the Flood will go after them because in a sense they'll need the ship to be pressurized to be able to move so...JESUS CHRIST SHOOT IT!" The sound of gunfire tore through the Battle-Net only to be silenced by a sickening tearing sound.

Everyone barely had time to glanced at each other before the door to the medical bay was blown open. Several Marine Combat forms came charging in, rifles blaring. Nicole and the Coltons took cover and returned fire, while Ahsoka deflected the bullets with her light saber. The shields of the forward most Combat Forms collapsed and they succumbed to the firepower of the defenders. Before they could even have time to recover from their losses, Ahsoka darted forward, and made a sweeping blow that hit three Combat Forms, causing them to collapse.

Jumping back, Ahsoka blocked more bullets from the Combat Forms as the UNSC personal continued to fire. The remaining Combat Forms collapsed under the strain of the fire. "That was most likely just a preliminary attack, there will be more of them," said Emily as she poked her head out of cover.

"Yeah," said Aaron "Best thing we can do is hole up until..." but he was cut off as more chatter was heard over the Battle-Net.

"This is the firing room...God Damn it...We just got raided by the Flood. We fought them off, but we lost half of our men in the process. The Flood are probably going to make another raid any second. God...if there is anyone nearby we need all the help we can get, if they get the firing room, they have the NOVA bomb, and everything's FUBAR."

Everyone glanced at each other. "Well," said Amber "What do we do now?"

"We can't all go there," said Emily "If Ventress get's infected they tear this ship in half. Aaron, Ahsoka you two head to the firing room and help them out, we'll stay here."

"Sounds like a plan," said Nicole as Aaron and Ahsoka both nodded as they dashed out of the Medical Bay.

"You know what's really screwed up?" said said to Ahsoka as they ran down the hallway. "This is the only alone time we've had in God knows how long.

"You do know that this battle has only been going on for hours right?" said Ahsoka, glancing at Aaron, with something resembling a smirk on her face. Not days? And we had a nice private moment right before we get ready."

"Yeah well," said Aaron defensively. "War does that to you, it feels like it never ends. You could've told me this battle had lasted weeks and I would've believed you."

"Fair enough," said Ahsoka as they continued down the hallway, heading for the firing room.

"GET OFF MY SHIP!" shouted Hanson as he fired a rocket at a group of Flood, sending tiny bits of flesh flying. He and the others with him were making their way through the _Twilight _attempting to support the personal in the firing room. The three Jedi were making mince meat of the Flood, while Vadmare was gunning them down with his plasma rifles and Core was frying them with his beam weapon.

"You sure are protective of this ship," said Obi-Wan as Hanson fired another rocket at a Tank Form, causing it's motionless corpse to collapse.

"You say that as if it is as bad thing," said Vadmare in an amused voice, as he swung one of his plasma rifles at a nearby Sangheili Combat Form, a loud crack emitting as it hit what resembled a head. "He is doing nothing more than showing some pride and defending what is his. Others could learn from him, learn to stand and defend what they hold dear to them."

"Perhaps," said Aayla as she slashed a Jiralhanae Combat Form across the chest. 'It's odd,' she thought privately to herself. 'The more time I spend around Allied Species personal the more and more I agree with their ideals. Vadmare killing the mercenary and glassing that planet seemed like unforgivable crimes at the time but now...people shouldn't go out of their way to do things like that, but if it is required...I suppose it is acceptable." A grim smile made it's way across her face. 'If I said that in front the Council, I would be sealing my expulsion from the order, if I was lucky that is. If I wasn't they would probably kill me on the grounds that I had been corrupted by the Dark Side. Vadmare isn't evil, he's just doing what is necessary to protect his people.'

"Aayla?" said Kit, breaking Aayla's line of thought as he decapitated the last Combat Form in the hallway that they were in. "Are you alright?"

"Hm?" said Aayla as she shook her head slightly. "Oh, I'm fine Kit. Just got a lot on my mind."

"Almost there," said Hanson as they began to dash down the hallway, slapping a fresh case into his rocket launcher.

As they came to a four way turn, Ahsoka and Aaron came running out of the right turn, nearly crashing into them. "Heading for the firing room?" Aaron asked as they fell into step with them.

"Yes," said Hanson "Glad that you could join us. The more people we have, the better."

"Admiral!" shouted a Marine who had his head stuck over a barricade that blocked the entrance to the room in front of them. The Marine pushed a table aside as the everyone slipped inside, then pushed the table back into place.

"What's the situation?" asked Hanson, looking at the Marine.

"Shit," said the Marine "I have a dozen Marines left and according to the latest reports evacuation will still take take around ten minutes. Good news is that Pelicans that we sent out are being redirected to other ships."

"Good," said Hanson "If they try to land on the Twilight they most likely be caught up in a ambush the Flood have no doubt set up."

"Admiral I hate to be a pain," said one of the other Marines in the room, pointing to a to one of the tubes that normally fired Archer Missiles, which was now loaded with the NOVA bomb. "But if it looks like they Flood will overwhelm us, I would recommend we fire the NOVA bomb, even if evac isn't complete. The alternative would be giving the Flood a chance to survive and spread all over the galaxy."

"Your recommendation is noted," said Hanson with a heavy voice "But I will do everything in my power to ensure that it will not come to that."

"Well I hope we can do that," said the first Marine "But If what I heard about the Flood is right, then doing that won't be..." he was cut off as a pale yellow tentacle slither over the barricade, and coiled him around the throat. The Marine was pulled over the barricade and out of sight. A scream of pure terror was heard, before it was silenced by a sickening crunching noise.

"GET BACK," shouted Hanson as everyone backed away from the barricade, guns pointing at it, and light sabers ignited. A Tank Form smashed through the barricade as if it was made out of sheet metal. It was met by a hailstorm of bullets and it collapsed under the pressure, but more Flood clambered over the corpse, paying no need to their fallen comrade. Combat Forms fired the various weapons that they had acquired and two Marines fell to the ground, their shields having collapsed. One of the Marines had several spiker rounds in his chest, and the other had sever plasma burns, both were dead.

Hanson fired two rockets at the oncoming Flood swarm sending a dozen of them flying through the air. He opened the firing camber, discarding the used case, but before he could reload his rocket a Stalker Form darted forward, slashing at Hanson with one of it's claws. It cut a deep gash in Hanson's right arm, causing the Admiral to drop the case, the last one that he had. As the Stalker drew back it's claw for another swipe, Hanson brought the rocket launcher down on the Stalker Form, crushing it. Two Marines stood in front of Hanson, protectively firing their assault rifles at the oncoming hoard of Flood.

Three more Marines fell under the offensive firepower of the incoming Combat Forms, as the Flood surged forward, and the defenders were slowly forces back. Hanson discarded his rocket launcher and picked up one of the assault rifles of the fallen Marines and fired it at the oncoming Flood. Due to his injured arm, the rifle jerked wildly, but there were so many Flood that all of the bullets hit one of them anyway.

'Shit," Aaron silently thought as he fired a burst of bullets at an oncoming Marine Combat form, lowing it's head off. 'This isn't going well,' That was the understatement of the day. The Flood seemed to be completely concentrated on the firing room, dozens maybe even hundreds of Forms of all types were swarming through the door.

Through the thicket of of Flood a Tank Form burst through, smashing two of the surviving Marines flat with it's fists. Obi-Wan and Kit dashed forward, Kit slicing it's left arm off, and Obi-Wan cut it's right leg off. Even as it fell to the ground, the Tank Form, struck out with it's remaining limbs. It's foot hit Kit in the chest and it's fist slammed into Obi-Wan's side. There was the sickening sound of breaking bones as both Jedi were thrown back. The remaining three Marines that weren't protecting Hanson ran forward, grabbing the wounded Jedi and pulling them back, firing their rifles as they did so.

Vadmare jumped forward, holstering one of his plasma rifles and activated his energy sword. The Fleetmaster cut off the head of the wounded Tank Form's head and he fired his plasma rifle into the oncoming horde, causing a handful of shapes to fall over. A Sangheili Combat Form, wielding an active energy sword jumped sword slashing at Vadmare's back. The Fleetmaster let out a roar of pain and the energy sword carved an enormous gash into his back. Letting out a roar, he swung his energy sword at the Combat Form, decapitating it.

Ahsoka and Aayla were at the front of the fray of the remaining defenders, swinging their light sabers wildly, deflecting plasma and metal. Ahsoka was watching out of the corner of her eye as Aaron emptied the last clip he had for his SMG, and took his sniper rifle off of his back, firing that at the Flood. "This isn't going well," Aayla said, as she deflected a plasma bolt back at the Jiralhanae Combat Form at had fired it at her. "We may not get out this alive Ahsoka."

'No,' Ahsoka thought softly. 'If that happens then that would mean these monsters would spread everywhere. No body would survive.' Ahsoka closed her eyes, still deflected oncoming projectiles with the assistance of the Force. 'Focus Ahsoka,' she thought 'Focus, remember who you're fighting for.' An image of the Coltons filled her mind. Ahsoka smiled. 'I'm doing this for them,' she thought warmly. 'And I won't let these monsters hurt them.' Ahsoka felt something warm coursing through her body. It wasn't anger, it was something much softer and kinder.

Aayla glanced at Ahsoka and then stopped swinging her light saber, staring at her. "Ahsoka?" she said, a look on her face that was a mixture of confusion and awe on her face. The very air around Ahsoka seemed to be rippling, as she stood perfectly still, a small smile on her face. The Flood had stopped advancing and were staring at Ahsoka, unsure of what to do or what was happening. Aayla took a few steps back, away from Ahsoka, she knew what was about to happen. "Everyone, up against the walls!" she shouted. Aaron and the Marines slid up against the wall, helping Kit, Obi-Wan, Hanson and Vadmare do the same. Aayla slid up against the wall, as the Flood decided to charge.

"What's going on?" asked Aaron, looking at Aayla.

"I don't know," said Aayla "But I think that Ahsoka is about to preform a..." before Aayla could finish her sentence, Ahsoka floated a few feet off of the ground, extending her arms as she did so. There was a thunderous crack as the Force exploded from where Ahsoka was floating. It tore through the air tearing through anything in it's way, and unfortunately for the Flood, they fell into this category. Every last Flood in the room was torn through shreds as the Force ripped through them. "Force Repulse," Aayla finished as Ahsoka floating back to the ground, looking drained.

"A what?" said Aaron as he and Aayla ran to where Ahsoka stood, now leaning against a wall for support.

"A very advanced Force technique," said Aayla "Even Masters are wary of using it because it drains them completely. Knights have even died using it. Frankly it's a miracle that Ahsoka's still breathing."

"Well," said Aaron glancing at the dead Flood "It worked."

"Ahsoka?" said Aayla, putting her hand on the younger girl's shoulder "How do you feel?"

"Exhausted," Ahsoka replied, looking as if remaining upright was and extremely tedious chore for her.

"How did you do that?" asked Aaron, his look of shock blocked by his helmet.

Ahsoka gave a weak grin "I honestly have no idea, it's more like the Force used me instead of the other way around."

Before either Aaron or Ahsoka could say anything, One of the remaining Marines let out a loud shout "EVACUATION'S COMPLETE!"

"Deploy the NOVA!" shouted Hanson as he lifted his hand to his com unit "All ships make the jump to slipspace immediately, I don't care where, just get out of here!" As Hanson shouted orders into his com unit the NOVA bomb was loaded into the firing chamber and was fired out of the_ Twilight_. "Bridge get us out of here!" shouted Hanson. No sooner had the words

left his mouth than the odd vibrations that always passed through a ship when it went to slipspace, passed through the _Twilight._

Hanson let out a sigh of relief "We did it," he said in a relieved tone, "We won."

"What about the rest of the Flood onboard?" said Obi-Wan, attempting to stand up straight.

"It will not be a problem," said Vadmare "The Gravemind can't communicate with Flood while we're in slipspace. Without his guidance, the Flood will abandon any and all of the tactics that they were using. With them bumbling about senselessly they are much less dangerous. What's more," Vadmare said as he glanced at the remains of the Flood that Ahsoka had destroyed. "Most of the Flood on board were probably in this room when Ahsoka killed them, there are probably barely any left. The Marines onboard can handle them."

"Is it over Aaron?" Ahsoka asked weakly, looking at the ODST and Aayla.

"Yeah," he said softly, smiling at the same time "It is."

Ahsoka let out a relieved sigh. "Thank goodness," she said as her legs gave out and she began to fall forward. Barely even surprised at it, Aaron leaned forward and caught Ahsoka before she even hit the ground.

Feeling her pulse, Aaron glanced as Aayla and said "She's just asleep, she's exhausted. That repulse must have really taken a lot out of her."

"I still can't believe that she preformed such an advanced technique so well," said Aayla. "Still, she should probably spend a couple of days in bed until she gets her strength back."

Aaron chuckled "She won't like that."

Aayla couldn't help it as a smile made it's way across her face. "No she won't," she admitted "But you've been spending a lot of time with her, maybe you can help convince her it's for the best."

"I'll do my best," said Aaron as he picked Ahsoka up bridal style. "I should probably get her to the Medical Bay."

"I will accompany you," Aayla said, holding her still ignited light saber "If you're holding her you won't be able to use your gun, and if you run into the Flood like that you'll be helpless."

"Fair enough," said Aaron, as Johnson, Ramore, Marticus, Jen, Anakin and Padmé charged into the room, weapons at the ready.

"Oh curses," said Marticus, looking at the Flood corpses, "I am too late."

"You would steal all of the glory Aaron," said Ramore, something similar to a teasing tone in his voice. "Aw well, I got all of the credit when we were fighting the Xenophobes, it's only fair you get a turn."

Aaron gave a small laugh as he said "Yeah, keep telling yourself that Ramore."

Anakin either didn't hear, or didn't care about Aaron and Ramore's conversation as he stared at Ahsoka. "What happened to Snips?" he demanded."

Aaron and Aayla glanced at each other before simultaneously saying "Ask Obi-Wan," and then walked out of the firing room.

As they did, every stared at Obi-Wan. "Oh where do I begin?" he said.

Back on Halo, the NOVA slammed into the ground, not to far from the Gravemind, which was now on the surface. It had been acting as a catapult, throwing Flood dispersal out of orbit towards the _Twilight_. As the Gravemind stared at the bomb, and let out a sigh. "_And so it ends, the coffin slides shut and the grave is filled. No matter, so long as a single Flood Spawn exists, we will rise to greatness again and again, until we consume all, ore cease to exist_." As the Grave mind spoke these words, the NOVA bomb detonated, letting lose a massive force, that completely destroyed Halo, killing every living thing on it.

Millions of lightyears away on Coruscant, Palpatine was sitting before a hologram of Dooku. "My master," Dooku said politely "Transmissions from droids on Halo report that it was completely destroyed, and all Extremist and CIS forces on it were killed. Grievous and myself escaped on my sloop, everyone we brought with us is dead," Dooku smiled "Including Ventress." Dooku paused. "My lord, you said you had a backup plan in case destroying the Allied Species failed, may I ask you what it is?"

Palpatine smiled "Of course," he said "I told Salvation to glass Coruscant, because the Jedi would mistake it for an Allied Species attack, so they would declare war on the Allied Species and not help them hunt down the Allied Species. As you know, I intervened to prevent war with them, but the fact that the Jedi did not trust them so that they did not send support to defeat the Extremists. Now Dooku, what do you believe the people of the Republic will say when they realize that the Jedi were wrong, and I was right?"

A smile broke across Dooku's face. "They will say that you are a brilliant leader and that the Jedi are heartless monsters, and when the time comes no one will be surprised about their 'betrayal' or mourn their passing."

"Exactly," said Palpatine "The Allied Species will most likely believe that the Jedi betrayed me as well and will not investigate their deaths. Yes Dooku, everything is going exactly according to plan."

Palpatine is a badass and he comes up with the most complicated and kick ass plans doesn't he? Well the F&Q will be next chapter if you have any last minute submissions, submit them now, and I will do what I can, I will attempt to answer any and all questions, though I will do so while giving away as little major spoilers as possible. Tell me what you think, personally I'm pretty proud of this chapter.


	30. F&Q Special

Chapter 30

F&Q Special

You've been waiting for this for a long time, although some of you may not care, so where we go, the F&Q. And just to throw this out, the reason we haven't been seeing that much AaronxAhsoka moments is because I don't want them to end up like Anakin and Padmé. "I hate sand" Jesus Christ.

Ok a quick rundown of how this is going to work, the cast themselves of Fighting for a Purpose will answer your question with answers that I have given them. No major spoilers will be given out here, so if your looking for them, just stop reading now. Ok, let's get started.

"Alright," said Amber, standing in a room with no visible features as she read off of a card. "We'll start off with Kaigashi Tori, who had quite a couple of questions. First question 'Do you plan on ending this story the same way as the first one?'" Amber looked up at the camera. "Well Tori, the rewrite will defiantly not end the same way, although some of you might have figured that out by this point. Anyway," she said, glancing back at the card "He also asks 'Are you going to continue this world you stared after this story?'" Amber looked up again. "Well it's not definite yet, erttheking is planning a couple of stories in this one, one in particular about the War on Salvation, so it's completely possible. Alright, I'm going to hand you over to Emily for the next one, because the next couple of questions are about her."

The scene changed to another room that was almost completely identical to the first one, except Emily was in it instead of Amber. "Alright," said Emily, staring at a card in her hand. "Atsik101 asks, 'If Aaron and Amber's mother is a SPARTAN III how come they didn't inherit her augmentations?'" Emily looked up "That's a very good question, one that bugged more for a little bit after they were born, until an answer presented itself to me. take out a paper and a pencil, this is a long one.

"I trust that this question was asked because Atsik had heard about the SPARTAN 1.1s the offspring of SPARTAN Is who inherited their parents augmentations. Naturally I expected my kids to inherit my augmentations, but they didn't, and then it hit me. A woman has all of her egg cells, or the cells a woman used for reproduction, when she is born, no more will ever be created. My genetic augmentations improved countless functions of my body, but they did not touch my reproductive system, therefore, my egg cells were not augmented. Now you may ask 'If this is true, how did the SPARTAN 1.1s happen?'" Well you see, when a man creates his sperm cells, or the cells that men use for reproduction, cells are taken from the body, cells that were augmented, and are divided in half so that they only have 23 chromosomes." Emily smiled "To be honest it took erttheking a while to figure this out, originally he was going to make it that my training facility was destroyed before I was augmented in order for it to fit, then he came up with that explanation. Well I hope it didn't go over your head."

"Moving on," said Emily "Spartan Command asks 'Is there a chance of you bringing the Rookie into this and if you do," Emily paused as her face turned bright red "Could you hook him up with Emily?" Emily was silent, as her blush creeped down along her neck. "Um," she said uncertainly "Me and James? I don't know, I mean he's a nice guy and all, but I'm not sure if it would work. Not that I don't like him I mean, it's just that...I mean," Emily looked around desperately, "Can we just skip that question?" she said pleadingly. "Most likely he'll make an appearance later on, can someone else please answer questions?"

The scene changed again to another identical room with Johnson standing in the middle. "Alright," he said "Due to my 'Boren's Syndrome'," he said sarcastically "And my immunity to the Flood, it was deemed appropriate that I answer the questions about those crawly bastards. Psykotic addiction asks 'The Flood is suppose to be a parasitic race that has existed for a LONG time. If that's true, why does their leader always speak in riddles and poetry? It's kind of hard to take a 40 ft. tall zombie plant seriously when it's reciting Shakespeare." Johnson shook his head "If I had a nickel for every time I asked myself that question," he muttered. "This is the best guess we can come up with. The Gravemind has spent millennia, maybe even eons stuck with the confines of a planets's gravity, maybe he gets bored and does this kind of thing to pass the time. I dunno this is the kind of thing you want to ask Bungie."

"Next question, Pskotic also asks 'Why can't the Gravemind just teleport Flood Forms to do the job for him? A Juggernaut Form popping in next to truth would've ended the job right there.'" Johnson scratched his head. "Good, point," he muttered "Once again, this is a question you be better off asking Bungie, but my guess is that if Flood started popping out of nowhere people would go to high alert and be ready for anything, a single soldier is much more subtle. One last question from Pskotic 'If you're a Chieftain how many Brutes do you command and how does it work?' Well we really don't have much information on this," said Johnson "Marticus' role is still being planned out, but a Chieftain is the equivalent of a Zealot, if that helps, and apparently there are lesser Chieftains and higher Chieftains, so the rank of all Chieftains are not all equal. Ok we're running out of time here, I'm going to hand you over to Tano and Aaron for the last two questions."

The scene changed to yet another blank room, where Ahsoka and Aaron stood. "Atsik asks," said Ahsoka "What would be the result of the mix of the genetic augmentation genes and Ahsoka's alien genes with the midichlorians in them." She looked up blushing slightly "Well, it hasn't been completely decided yet, but for far the child would be force-sensitive and would have some traits of genetic augmentation. The rest has yet to be decided."

"Last question," said Aaron as he read his own card. As he read it, he rolled his eyes. "Go figure," he muttered. "Nearly everyone asks, "Will Master Chief be making an appearance? Well I can't really say because that would be the mother of all spoilers. But I will tell you this, keep your eyes open, you might be surprised at what you find. And that concludes are F&Q, would've liked it to be longer, but we only had so much to work with. Oh one last thing, erttheking has decided to write what he calls 'a cool down arc'. for the next couple of chapters there will be no major fighting or battles as the main cast recuperates from the Battle of Halo." Aaron blinked as he reread the card. "Did I read right, are we getting a vacation?" Ahsoka nodded and smiled. "Well this is sweet," said Aaron smiling.

I hope this answered some of your questions,see you next chapter during which, and a couple after that, there will be no fighting as the main cast recovers from their ordeal. Hey, they earned it.


	31. Home Sweet Home

Chapter 31

Home Sweet Home

Well with Halo fried, I'm going to give the main cast a couple of chapters of R&R. So don't expect any action anytime soon, and more character development.

"What's the status of the fleet?" asked Admiral Hanson as he sat on in the Captain's chair of the _Twilight,_ his arm in a sling. He had refused waiting around the medical bay until all of the other wounded personal were treated, so he had resumed his duties, despite his injuries.

"We've done a scan of the _Twilight_ sir, all Flood have successfully been terminated. As for the fleet, all seventeen surviving ships are reporting heavy damage sir," said an Ensign at the front of the bridge. "Until we get some repairs, we'll last about three seconds in a fight. We're already heading towards the nearest Allied Species controlled planet, It's a UNSC colony called Horizon, looks like it's main exports are heavy density metals and some crops. They have orbital stations that should be able to accommodate us."

"Good," said Hanson as he relaxed into his chair. After escaping the NOVA bomb blast, the fleet had regrouped and set a course for the nearest planet under Allied Species control, Hanson, however, had been out of the loop due to the fact that his arm was being bandaged up. "How long will it take for the ships to be repaired."

"At the very least?" said another Ensign "A month, even with Huragoks, entire plating has buckled in some sections."

Hanson sighed. "Huragoks?" said a voice coming from above Hanson. The Admiral looked up to see core floating over his head. "Creations of my creators? I do believe I will be able to work alongside them quite well, so well I can have your ships repaired in two weeks. While I'm at it, I may even add a few upgrades. These slipspace engines are rather primitive by comparison to those of the Forerunners, I will see what I can do."

Hanson smiled "Thank you Core."

Ahsoka let out a soft groan as her eyes began to flutter open. Her whole body felt like it was made of metal as she weakly stirred in the bed she was lying in. "She's waking up," said a voice that Ahsoka recognized as Amber's. As Ahsoka's vision came into focus, she saw Aayla and the Coltons standing around her.

"You alright Ahsoka?" Aaron asked, looking at the Trogrutan girl.

"I think so," said Ahsoka rubbing her head "I'm just tired."

"Well that's good," said Aayla, a faint smile present on her face "Because you're going to take it easy for a couple of days."

"I figured you'd say that," Ahsoka groaned. It couldn't be planner that the idea of taking a couple of says slow was torturous to her.

"Oh look at it this way," said Aayla, a comforting tone in her voice. "It's small price to pay for stopping a brainwashing parasite from spreading to the corners of the Galaxy."

Ahsoka managed a weak smile "Fair enough," she said.

"Alright," said Aayla, smiling "Remember no overexerting yourself, the Repulse took a lot out of you."

'This is weird,' Ahsoka thought 'Jedi Masters are usually pretty stoic, Aayla is being pretty...warm.' "So what are we doing now? What's the fleet doing?"

"We got the shit beat out of us," Emily said "Right now we're basically limping to the closest planet for repairs, we're probably going to be out commission for a couple of weeks."

"We're did they say we were going again?" asked Amber.

"They didn't say," said Aayla "They probably only decided recently anyway."

As they continued to talk, Hanson's voice crackled over the Battle-Net. "Attention all personal, we will exiting slipspace in approximately 10 minutes. Once we do, we will dock with stations orbiting Horizon, a UNSC colony. As of now, all personal on the fleet is on short leave until the fleet is repaired."

"Did he say Horizon?" said Amber looking at Emily.

"Yeah," said Ahsoka sitting up in her bed. "Why?"

"We're from that planet," said Emily "That is unless James raised you two on another colony," she said, looking at Aaron and Amber.

"No," said Aaron "He moved there just to look after us. We lived at a house that he bought. We moved out of the house we lived in with you because he thought...you know...it would be better if we got out of there."

"So what happened to that house?" Emily asked looking at her son, a curious look on her face.

"As a matter of fact, a bunch of the people in the town take turns watching the place," said Amber. "You made a bit of an impact on the town and they view you as a bit of a hero, so they decided to maintain the house out of respect."

"Really?" said Emily an interested tone in her voice. "Is there any chance that I can get it back?"

"Most likely," said Aaron "I don't see why they wouldn't give it back to you."

"Interesting," said Emily. "I have a proposition to make to you two," she said looking at Aayla and Ahsoka. "Is there any chance you would like to come over to dinner tonight?"

"Hm," said Aayla with an interested look on her face "I suppose that would be nice, Ahsoka are you up for this?" she asked looking at the girl.

"Defiantly," said Ahsoka eagerly.

"All right then," said Aayla tapping her communicator, which was still firmly placed in her ear "Just give me a shout when it's time. If you don't mind me asking who's cooking?"

"Me of course," said Emily "I don't mean to brag but I'm a pretty good cook."

"Well," said Aayla, an amused tone in her voice "I'll see you tonight. I'm going to go check up on Kit and Obi-Wan," she said as she turned around and walked out of the room that they were in.

"Where are we anyway?" asked Ahsoka as she looked around the room that they were in.

"The medical bay was fill of wounded troopers so we had to take you to a vacant troopers quarters," answered Aaron. "So you have to take it easy for a couple of days huh?" Ahsoka nodded unenthusiastically.

"Well we'll be arriving soon," said Emily I'm going to go get our stuff together, Amber can you help me?"

"What stuff?" asked Amber with a confused look on her face. "We don't have anything to bring down to the planet, and even if we did they would be on the_ Glorious Victory_ not the..."

"Amber," Emily hissed, subtly gesturing at Ahsoka and Aaron so that only Amber could see.

"Oh," said Amber compression dawning across her face "I just remembered I do have a couple of thing lying around," she said hastily as she walked out of the room with Emily.

"We'll be in the hanger bay when we arrive at the planet," said Emily, turning to face Emily and Aaron before she and Amber left the room.

"So," said Ahsoka, smiling as she noticed that she and Aaron were alone. "I'm not allowed to overexert myself, would you mind leaning in?" Aaron smiled as he leaned towards Ahsoka, kissing her softly. Ahsoka let out a light moan as both of them wrapped their arms around each other. Ahsoka pulled Aaron slightly causing him to overbalance and fall on top of Ahsoka. "Glad you could join me down her," said Ahsoka softly.

"My pleasure," said Aaron smiling as a thought occurred to him. "Hey Ahsoka," Aaron said as he got out of the bed, much to Ahsoka's disappointment "I'd like to try something, you up for it?"

"Oh alright," said Ahsoka, curiosity present in her voice "What is it."

"Just a little thank you for saving me from Ventress...again," said Aaron as he walked to the front of the bed. As he did he gently picked up Ahsoka's right leg, removing her boot and her stocking. "I vaguely recall Mom saying the women love it when you do this," he said as he began to massage Ahsoka's foot.

"Oh," said Ahsoka in a surprised voice. "Aaron you...oh," she said she lay flat on the bed, a look of pure ecstasy on her face. "That feels so good," she moaned.

"You really like this don't you?" Aaron said as he continued to run Ahsoka's foot.

"It's because I'm a Trogruta," she said faintly "We originate from the planet Shili. It's customary for Trogrutas to not wear shoes on Shili, it's a common belief that it cuts us off from the earth. I grew up used to never wearing anything on my feet. I guess wearing shoes all of the time made them a little sensitive, it's my body longing for more...feeling."

"Does this count?" Aaron as he removed the boot and stocking from Ahsoka's other foot and began to massage it.

"Oh," said Ahsoka unable to hide her pleasure "Yes the defiantly counts." As Aaron continued to massage Ahsoka's feet, the vibration that accompanied entering an leaving slipspace passed through the ship.

Aaron sighed as he got to his feet. "Well we're here," he said as Ahsoka sat up in the bed, slipping her stockings and boots back on.

"Yeah," Ahsoka as she gingerly got out of the bed. A moment of silence passed between them before Ahsoka spoke. "Aaron...thanks for that, it really felt nice," she said as she smiled weakly.

"You're welcome," Aaron said warmly "I just felt like doing something nice for you."

Ahsoka blushed as she rubbed her arm. "It's because we're together right?" she said.

Aaron nodded as he said "Yeah. Isn't that how this kind of relationship works? We don't need prompts for doing nice things for each other, we just do them."

Ahsoka smiled "I like the sound of that," she said. "You know, just when I don't think I can get any happier hanging around you and your family, you prove me wrong."

"Thanks Ahsoka," Aaron said as he leaned in and kissed her. "Well come on, we'll have to hurry if we want to catch a Pelican down to the planet."

"You're right," said Ahsoka. "I love you," she added as they began to walk out of the room.

"I love you too Ahsoka," Aaron said as they exited the room.

A few minutes later, Aaron and Ahsoka walked into the hanger bay of the _Twilight _where people were being loaded onto Pelicans to be taken down to the planet's surface. "Glad that you could join us," Amber said as Aaron and Ahsoka climbed into the back of the same Pelican that Amber and Emily were already in.

"So what exactly are going to until the ships are repaired?" Ahsoka asked as the back door of the Pelican closed and the clamps holding it in place were disengaged.

"Well if you'd like to," said Emily "You can stay with us at our home."

Ahsoka blinked. "Yes," she said simply, a smile spreading across her face. "I'd think that I would like that."

"Where are you going?" shouted the pilot from the cockpit.

"A small town called Wheatherton," said Amber.

"Got it," said the pilot as the Pelican entered the planet's atmosphere. After a few minutes of silent flying the Pelican touched down on the ground. "I had to land you on the outskirts, so you'll have to do a little bit of walking," the pilot said as the doors open.

Ahsoka and the Coltons climbed out, and as they did, they saw a silhouette of a small town on the horizon. "Ah," said Emily smiling "It's good to be home."

No I do not have a foot fetish, I just thought that that would make for a sweet scene. Oh in other words, I checked out the latest Red vs Blue video, and apparently in Halo Reach...well...how do I put this? BLOOD GULTCH IS BACK BABY! Well as always please tell me what you think.


	32. Homecomming

Chapter 32

Homecoming

After a couple more chapters of this and then we'll get back into the action. Alright, enjoy.

"This is your house?" Ahsoka asked. She and the Coltons were standing in front of a middle class house. It was actually some way from the town, at least five minutes of walking, but nothing unmanageable.

"Yeah," said Emily, as she approached the front door and turned the knob, only to meet firm resistance. "Locked," she muttered. As she turned around to face the others, she said "Aaron, Amber, you have any idea idea where we can get a key?"

Before either of the twins could answer, a man in ODST armor came from around the back. Upon seeing Aaron and Amber, he waved warmly at them. "Aaron, Amber!" he shouted "Geez if I had known you two were coming home I would have been back at..." but the man's voice died as he saw Emily. "No," he said softly as he walked towards her, stopping a few feet away from her "How is that possible?"

Emily smiled as she removed the helmet of the ODST, revealing a man with short cropped hair, that was beginning to gray. "It's me James," she said softly, wrapping her arms around the older man, who returned the action almost automatically.

"How?" James managed to croak out weakly "You haven't aged a day."

"It's a long story," said Emily as she broke away from James, still holding his helmet. "Have you been taking care of the place?"

"Yeah," James said numbly "But there's absolutely no food in it if you're planning on moving back in. Not to mention half of everything is in the attic and basement, like the silverware."

"Hmm," Emily said as she frowned "That won't do, we're having company over tonight. James, do you have a credit card on you?"

"What? Oh yeah I do," he said, producing a rectangular silver card from one of his armor's many pockets.

"Good," said Emily as she took the card and threw it to Aaron, who caught it. "Aaron why don't you and Ahsoka do some grocery shopping, show her around the town a little bit while you're at it? Get something that I can work with, and have Ahsoka pick out something that she and Aayla would like." Aaron nodded as he and Ahsoka turned and began to walk towards the town. "Amber, James," said Emily, turning to face them "Inside, we've got a lot of work to do. I felt like redecorating anyway."

"So what do Togrutans usually eat?" Aaron asked as he and Ahsoka walked into Wheatherton "I don't think you and I ever ate together." Strangely enough, only a handful of passersby stopped to look twice at Ahsoka, and even those who did simply went back to their business after they had gotten a good look at her. Apparently they had gotten used to aliens after the formation of the Allied Species, and word of the war in a Republic Galaxy had become common knowledge.

"Meat usually," said Ahsoka "We lean towards being carnivores a little bit, mostly because of our unusually sharp canine teeth. See?" she said as she bared her teeth towards Aaron. As Aaron took a close look, he saw that Ahsoka did have the type of canines that you expected to see in a predator, like a lion.

'Hope I don't cut my tongue on them,' Aaron thought, while at the same time wondering why he hadn't noticed them earlier. "Sounds to me like you could use a nice steak," Aaron said as they passed through why looked like the town square.

"That'd be nice," said Ahsoka as she smiled. "Personally I'm eager to see what your exactly you mom can do in terms of...Um Aaron, what is that?" Ahsoka asked as she pointing to the center of the town square. In the center of town, was a rather large marble statue of six ODSTs in a kneeling position with their weapons raised. Two of them had assault rifles, a third had a rocket launcher, another had a Spartan laser, the next one had a sniper rifle and the final one had an SMG.

"Oh yeah," said Aaron, looking at the statue "I forgot to mention that. It's the town's memorial for the War on Salvation," he said as be began to walk towards it, Ahsoka following him. "Read the inscription," Aaron said as they stopped right before it "You might find some familiar names."

Spotting the inscription, craved into the plinth that the statue was on, Ahsoka crouched down and began to read silently.

**On December 15, 2569 this village was saved by the brave actions of**

**Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck**

**Sergeant Emily Colton**

**Corporal Taylor H. "Dutch" Miles**

**Lance Corporal Kojo "Romeo" Agu**

**Lance Corporal James "The Rookie" Dante**

**Corporal Michael "Mickey" Crespo **

**Who bravely defended the village against a Jiralhanae Extremist onslaught, pushing them back and saving hundreds of lives.**

"Any chance that this was the same battle that you mom told us about when we were getting off of Halo?" Ahsoka asked as she stood up.

"Most likely," said Aaron "I wouldn't know, James doesn't like to talk about Human-Covenant war, or the War on Salvation, they bring back bad memories. The skirmish that took place in this town was the only one he would tell us about, because Amber and I would always ask him why mom's name was carved into this statue. That's all we ever got out of him. Then again we might have better luck now with mom back, he might be more comfortable now. Anyway we better get back to the shopping," he said before pausing, looking at Ahsoka.

"What?" she asked, wondering why Aaron was staring at her.

"Your eyes," he said. "They look...different."

"In what way?" Ahsoka asked, panicking for a second, wondering if her eyes still had the yellow tinge the Emily had told her about.

"They...look a lot brighter," Aaron said. Ahsoka's eyes were indeed a much brighter shade of blue. "Now I think about it, your eyes were no where near this bright before you did that Repulse." They were both silent for a second. "What happened back there?" Aaron asked.

"I have no idea," said Ahsoka. "I don't think it was anything bad though. I get the feeling we'll find out sooner or later though. Anyway, your mom's expecting us to get food right?" Aaron nodded as the two of them walked away from the memorial.

"You know I kind of like your eyes this way," Aaron said, causing Ahsoka to blush.

"Mom where do you want this?" Amber asked as she held an armchair with both arms. She, Emily and James were in the basement of the Colton household, taking the furniture out of storage.

"Put it in the den Amber," said Emily, who was rifling through a cabinet. "Well would you look at this," she said as she pulled a dusty bottle out of the cabinet, blowing off the dust as she did so. "Red wine," Emily said as she dusted off the bottle. "I remember I got this in 2577, it was imported from Paris all the way back on Earth. Amber is Ahsoka old enough to drink?" she asked as Amber was carrying the armchair up the stairs.

"From what I've heard she's basically an adult, and I doubt she would be irresponsible with alcohol," said Amber. "Why do you ask?'

"I think we're going to have wine with dinner," said Emily, giving the bottle an experimental shake and was rewarded with a slushing noise, confirming the presence of liquid in the bottle. "Did you ever let the twins drink?" Emily asked, looking at James, who was rifling through the a group of boxes.

"Never really got a chance to," said James. "Legal drinking age on Horizon is 18 and they enlisted in the military the day that they turned 18."

"They didn't drink at all during high school?" asked Emily "Not a drop?"

"Some girls gave a glass of beer while I was over that their house," said Amber, who was trying to squeeze the armchair through the door. "It was completely disgusting, I threw it up when I was halfway home," a vulgar expression spread across Amber's face. "Because of that little incident I couldn't really get the idea of drinking through my head after that, drinking beer anyway. I think I could give wine a shot though, from what I've it's much better than beer." Amber slammed her shoulder into the chair, forcing it through the doorway. "Finally," she muttered as she walked through the doorway, picked up the chair, and walked out of sight.

"It's settled than," said Emily as she placed the bottle on top of the cabinet and then continued to rummage through it. She paused as she pulled out a small box, opening it.

"What is it?" James asked, walking over, but as he saw what was in the box, he became silent.

"You think I should give this to Aaron?" Emily asked quietly.

"Um Emily that one goes on a girl not a boy," said James.

Emily gave a small laugh. "I know, you know that alien girl that was with Aaron?"

"Oh yeah," said James "I was so stunned by you still be alive I guess I didn't really think about it, who is she?"

"Her name's Ahsoka Tano, and from what she's in a relationship with Aaron," said Emily, closing the box.

"Is this the same man who went through four years of high school without getting a single date?" said James with a disbelieving look on his face. "And you're telling me he's with a alien?"

"Yeah," said Emily chuckling "It's weird, I don't think he'll need this for awhile. Still I'll give to him for when he's ready."

On board the _Twilight_, Aayla swung her light saber only to have it blocked by Jen's katana. The two were sparring in the boxing ring, Jen still wearing her armor, and they were more or less equal. Anakin was watching the duel along with Nicole, and Johnson. "Is it pretty much normal for Jedi to be able to move this fast?" asked Nicole "And can all of them keep up with Jedi?"

"Well Aayla is a Jedi Master, more or less one of the highest ranked Jedi," said Anakin. "And as for all of them keeping up with Jedi, I'm not sure if all of them could do it, but so far everyone that has fought Jen has managed to keep up with her. Snips was even able to beat her."

"Who?" asked Nicole, looking at Anakin with a confused look on her face.

"Ahsoka," said Anakin. "Snips is my little nickname for her."

"Ah," said Nicole, realization flooding onto her face. "Wait, Ahsoka beat a SPARTAN?"

"Yup," said Jen, as she ducked a swipe from Aayla and threw a sweep kick, only to have Aayla jump over it. "But to be fair I wasn't wearing my armor at the time. Then again, her teacher," she said, gesturing to Anakin with her free hand. "Lost to me with my armor off." Anakin scowled. "Not to mention she's only a teenager so she's pretty good for her age."

"Speaking of Ahsoka," said Aayla as she threw a stab at Jen, only to have it blocked. "I'll be meeting up with her and the Coltons for dinner later."

"Oh really," said Nicole an interested look on her face "Would you mind if I tagged along?"

"I don't see why that would be a problem," said Aayla, who was in the middle of blocking an overhead swipe from Jen. "From what I've heard you were childhood friends with Aaron and Amber so I think that you would be welcome."

"Nice," said Amber as she turned to face Anakin "Any chance that you would like to come along? I'm sure that your student would appreciate it."

"Nah," said Anakin, shaking his head dismissively "I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Shame," said Aayla, as she and Jen exchanged a quick spurt of light blows that were all blocked. "I think that they're expecting us around nighttime."

"Alright," said Nicole "What do you say we catch a Pelican after this is over?"

"That might take awhile," said Jen as swung her katana at Aayla, only to have the Jedi dodge her by the skin of her teeth.

Johnson shook his head. "I spend half of a century in a pod, and when I finally come back out everything's upside down. There's people with energy sword rip offs that blow shit up with their minds, SPARTANS are running around with swords, nobody's found Chief yet, Brutes aren't tearing heads off anymore, Jesus, next thing you know there will be a Hamlet remake with an all Hunter cast."

Well there you go, as always tell me what you think. I think that most people will be able to figure out what's in the box, but whatever.


	33. Preparations

Chapter 33

Preparations

"You know," said Nicole as she and Aayla sat in a Pelican that was heading down to the surface of Horizon "If you and Jen we're just going to call it a draw after half an hour I wouldn't have bothered watching.

Aayla let out a small chuckled "Yes, well we had no way of knowing that neither of us were going to get anywhere, did we?"

"Fair enough," said Amber, as he Pelican touched down on the ground, the back bay doors opening as they did.

"Here's your stop!" the pilot shouted at them from the cockpit "I couldn't land in them middle of a populated area so you'll have to walk a little bit."

Aayla and Nicole both climbed out of the Pelican as the doors shut, and the Pelican began to soar upward, heading back towards the _Twilight_. "So where are we heading?" asked Aayla, looking at Nicole.

"Hold on a second," said Nicole as she looked at the surrounding area. "It's been awhile since I went walking around here, give me a minute to get my bearings." Nicole looking around for a minute, before saying "Ok the Colton house is that way," she said, pointing off in the distance. "I remember because every once in a while my mother would take me there to help maintain it."

"Your mother lives here?" asked Aayla as the two began to walk.

"Yeah," said Nicole smiling "Know that I think about it I should probably pay her a visit while I'm not short leave. She's kind of like Emily, a single mom who served in the war on Salvation, except she was just a plain old Marine. After the war, she found a nice quite town to settle down in. After awhile she met a guy, and well, I happened.

"What happened to your father?" asked Aayla a curious look on her face.

Nicole gave a sigh. "Unfortunately that's another thing I have in common with Aaron and Amber. My dad wasn't the best of dads, in fact he was borderline abusive. I think that he was upset that I didn't turn out to be a boy, because he used to tell me that I wouldn't amount to anything and call me all sorts of horrible things." Nicole gave a small chuckle "Luckily my mom overheard him one night and divorced his ass the next day. But," said Nicole, a sad look crossing her face "What he did messed me up a little bit. My mom always loved me but I had trouble making friends, I was quite in school and I always got picked on for it. One day after school, it got pretty bad, some kids corned me after school and stared hitting me." Nicole shuddered.

"What happened?" asked Aayla, who looked like she was completely submersed in Nicole's story.

"I don't remember everything that happened, they gave me a bit of a concussion os everything's a bit hazy. The next thing I remember I'm in the hospital, and there's a girl sitting in the chair next to my bed, wearing a karate gee." Nicole smiled "Amber had stayed late herself for some sparing with other students taking the same course that she was. She had heard the other kids pounded the hell out of me, and intervened. From what I heard they were in the hospital for a couple of months after she was done with them. After that she carried me to the hospital, thank god it wasn't that far away. We became pretty good friends, I even became friends with Aaron, but I never really connected with him the way I connected with Amber." Amber smiled fondly as she remembered the good times she and Amber had gone through. "So what are you going to do after the war?" she asked, looking at Aayla.

"The same thing I was doing before the war started," Aayla answered "Serving as a guardian for the Galactic Republic. You?" she asked.

"Well," said Amber in an embarrassed tone as she rubbed the back of her head. "I kind of always wanted to be a professional swimmer. When I was a kid I always...kind of...wanted to swim in the Olympics."

"The Olympics?" said Aayla a confused look on her face.

"It's a gathering of the best athletes of Humanity. It used to be athletes from each country back on Earth but now there are representatives from Earth and all of the Colonies. I guess I always wanted to represent Horizon in the swimming division, but not just anyone gets into the Olympics, only the very best get to go there." Nicole shook her head "Ah well you never know until you try." Aayla smiled as she nodded. "Well, no time to be thinking about this, I should be thinking a bit more about the here and now, it can wait until this whole war is over."

"Don't you think we got a little much," said Ahsoka, as she and Aaron carried a bunch of plastic bags containing the groceries.

"Nah," said Aaron "Mom can do amazing things behind the counter, and you know that someone cooks well when she hasn't cooked a meal in fourteen years."

"Question," asked Ahsoka "What was that stuff in those brown wrappers that you got."

"Oh that's chocolate," said Aaron "Amber's crazy about that stuff and they don't serve it on military ships, so I thought that I would get her some."

"Hey mom!" Aaron shouted as they came into the view of the house, "We got the food!"

"Good!" shouted Emily who was standing in front of the house with Amber and James.

"Hey Amber," said Aaron as he approached the house and produced a bar of chocolate from one of the bags. He tossed to Amber as she caught it.

"Chocolate you're a lifesaver Aaron," said Amber as she unwrapped the bar and took a bite.

"Chocolate eh?" said Emily, an intrigued look on her face "Hey Aaron toss me a bar." Aaron smiling and reached into the bag, tossing another bar at Emily, who caught it, and began to unwrap it.

"Are we a little early?" said a voice. Everyone turned around to see Aayla and Nicole approaching the house. Nicole waved towards Amber, who returned the favor.

"Hey guys," said Nicole as she and Aayla walked towards the front of the house "Hi Mr. Dante," she said nodding towards James.

"Hey Nicole," said Aaron "Chocolate?" he said, holding out a third bar towards her.

"Oh, yes please," she said as she took the bar.

"What is this stuff?" Aayla asked as she looked at the chocolate that everyone was eating.

"It's chocolate," said Emily "Don't tell me you've never had it before."

"Can't say that I have," said Aayla as Ahsoka shook her head no as well.

"Well that won't do," said Emily, as she reached into the bag that Aaron was holding and produced two more bars of chocolate. "Come on," she said as she unwrapped both of the bars and handed one to Ahsoka and one to Aayla.

"I don't know," said Aayla, staring at the chocolate in her hand.

"Aw come on," said Amber as she took another bite from her bar. "No woman doesn't like chocolate."

"She's got a point, it's great stuff," said Nicole. "You have no idea what you're missing."

"Oh alright," said Ahsoka as she took a bit out of the bar. "Hmm," she said as she took another bite "You know it's not that bad, in fact it's kind of good."

"Really?" said Aayla as she took a bite out of her own bar. "You know you have a point it is quite tasty."

"Well," said Emily as she took the shopping bags from Aaron and Ahsoka "I have helped two people reach enlightenment. I'm going to get dinner started, It be ready in," she glanced into the bags "Two hours. James, are those spices still in the basement?"

"Um I think so," said James as he walked towards Aayla holding out his hand "James Dante."

"Aayla Secura," she said taking his hand with her free one and shaking it "Pleasure to meet you."

"Um, what exactly is going on here?" asked Ramore. He Anakin, Marticus, Hanson and Jen were call standing in the engine room of the _Twilight_. Half of the Huragoks on the ships were floating over the engines, pulling pieces off and re-modifying the whole thing.

"Core made some sort of a network between all of the Huragoks over the entire feet and now he fixing the ships, and upgrading the engines," said Hanson, who had a look of awe on his face.

"I take it there's a reason who haven't done this yourself already?" asked Anakin as Core floated over, his eye glowing brightly as he communicated with over the network.

"Yes," said Jen, as she watched the engine being disassembled. "All of the instructions that the Huragoks are from the data Core managed to salvage to Halo's databanks. Also when we tried to connect the Huragoks ourselves, it didn't work that well. Matthew, when you tried to do it how many did you manage to connect?"

"Not that well," said Matthew "I only got three connected, it's a lot harder than it looks."

"Any particular reason you could never pull it off?" asked Anakin.

"Yes," said Ramore, looking away from the engine and at Anakin. "We have absolutely no idea how these things work, they are creations of the Forerunners and they took the knowledge of their creations to their graves."

"It's embarrassing really," said Hanson "Not even the Huragoks themselves know 100% how they work. They're extremely complicated, but then again what would you expect from an organic super computer?

"Core," said Jen, looking at the floating Monitor above their heads "Any chance I could ask you a question?"

"'What?" said Core, sounding like he had just been brought out of deep thoughts "Oh certainly, what is it?"

"Exactly what kind of upgrades are you making to the engines? Jen asked, looking at the Monitor.

"I am upgrading the capability of the engines of the fleet," Core answered "While the distance you are capable of traveling in one solar cycle is respectable I am upgrading the engines so that these ships will be capable of traveling millions of lightyears per day."

"Millions?" said Hanson, shock heavy in his voice "We'll be able to get from our galaxy to the Republic's galaxy in one day, it took as over a week to get there last time."

"In addition to that I will do what I can to further your technology with that little data I was able to salvage," said Core "Also should you ever find any Forerunner technology, please bring it to me, I may be able to get it working, and salvage any date from it if it has any."

Marticus shook his head "This Monitor may be the key that unlocks the key to Teir-1 technology," he said.

"I hope so," said Core "I only wish to be of assistance to the Reclaimers, and by extend their allies. My creators died leaving you their technology, I would sooner be melted down for scrap metal than let their sacrifice be left

in vein."

Hanson smiled and put hand to his headset as it began to beep. "Yes?" he said.

"Admiral," came Vadmare's voice, who had returned to the Glorious Victory earlier that day "Would you care to explain why my Huragoks are taking my ship apart?"

Hanson let out a laugh "Oh, where it begin?" he said with a tired tone in his voice.

A little shorted than usual, but I ran out of things to write, also read Halo: The Human Effect by MJOLNIR117. It is a Halo Mass Effect crossover that I Beta Read for him, and I got to say that it has promise, he hasn't published all of the chapters that he has written but trust me, subscribe to him and you won't regret it.


	34. Dinner

Chapter 34

Dinner

You know I think I'll write a Mass Effect and Halo crossover along side this one, I'll try to balance it with this story. This is how it'll work, chapter for this, chapter for the other story, chapter for this story, chapter for the other story, and so on and so forth. Anyone think that this would be a good idea? If enough people think that this won't work, I'll wait until this story is done, so be sure to tell me if this a good or idea to you are not. FYI the way the crossover will work like this, 50 years after the events of Halo 3 the UNSC makes contact with the Galactic Community.

"What exactly is your mother making?" Aayla asked. She and all of the others, except for Emily, were sitting around a set table, just outside the Colton house. They had been sitting there for nearly two hours now, after Emily had disappeared into the house, and had yet to emerge.

"Why don't you find out for yourself?" Emily asked as she walked out the front door, balancing several plates laden with food. Setting down the plates on the table, which turned out to be holding steaming steak, hot mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob.

"Looks good," said Ahsoka as everyone ladled food onto their plates.

"Oh more thing," said Emily, as picked up a bottle of wine that had been placed in the middle of the table, and glanced at Aayla. "Is it against the the Jedi code to drink?" she asked as she poured herself a glass of wine.

"Hm," said Aayla, looking as if she was in deep thought. "Oh, I suppose that a glass or two wouldn't hurt," she said as she picked up her glass and held it towards to Emily, who filled the glass. As Aayla pulled her glass away, Emily walked around the table, filling up everyone else's glasses.

"Can't say that I ever really tried alcohol," said Aaron as he took a sip of the wine "But this is pretty good."

"Mm," Ahsoka said as she took a sip of her own wine. "I suppose drinking is that bad if you can just handle it responsibly."

"That's exactly how it works Ahsoka," said Amber as she took a bite of steak. "Oh I forgot how good that your cooking was mom," she said after she had swallowed the meat.

"Well, thank you," said Emily as she swallowed a forkful of potato "It's helpful with all of my spices still around."

"So tell me more about this planet," Ahsoka said, after swallowing a bit of steak, "Is it all green like this."

"Oh no," said Emily "Things have changed a lot since I moved here, but this planet is a lot like Earth, it's pretty diverse. There are plains, desserts, oceans, mountains, marshes forests, jungles any everything in between. Overall there are eight continents, five are mainly used for mining titanium, iron, copper and other stuff like that. The other three, like the one we're on, is mainly used for agriculture. In addition to the mining and farming companies, plenty of other people moved here to sell products to the miners, farmers and their families. One thing lead to another and the population on this planet skyrocketed. There are easily tens of millions of colonists on this planet, with towns and cities across the entire planet.

"Isn't this a bit much?" asked Johnson. All non-Huragoks had been forced out of the engine room and emergency blast doors had been closed, due to the fact that Core's project held the risk of decompression. He was sitting in the cafeteria along with Anakin, Jen, Ramore, and Marticus.

"You don't exactly trust Core do you?" asked Anakin, looking at Johnson.

"That's not true," said Johnson, looking at Anakin sternly "I trust the lightbulb, it's simply that the last Monitor that I met was the reason that I died, or nearly died or what ever the hell happened to me. Spark was a crazy bastard that burned a hole in my chest. So I hope you can forgive me for being a little uncomfortable around him, especially since he's basically taking the ship apart with us still on it. How long is he going to be doing this anyway?"

"He didn't say," said Ramore, who was, as usual, reading off of a holo-pad. "Although I would estimate he will be continuing his upgrades for several more days. And then there are the repairs that need to be taken care of."

"I should probably see if I can find a good bar on the colony," said Johnson as he took a long puff on his cigar.

"Yes, a nice barrel of alcohol does tend to make these sort of things pass more quickly," said Marticus "Although it does dull the mind in large quantities.

"Well don't carried away," said Jen, smiling slyly "But you never know, I might join you."

"That was delicious Ms. Colton, I mean Emily," Nicole said as she helped Emily do the dishes. It was nighttime outside, Horizon was similar to Earth in another way, it had 22 hour days, close enough to Earth to be comparable. Everyone else had retired for night, a thunderstorm had crept on them preventing dropships from being able to land safely so Ahsoka and Aayla were staying the night. "So how exactly did you manage to make it so that everyone had a bed?" Nicole asked.

"Well it was tricky," said Emily. "Amber's sleeping in her old bed, James is in one of the guest beds, Aayla's using my bed, I'm sleeping on the couch and you'll have to use the other guest room."

"But what about Aaron and Ahsoka, where are they sleeping?" asked Nicole.

"Um," said Emily rubbing the back of her neck. "Well...Ah...how do I explain this?"

On the other side of the Colton house, Aaron and Ahsoka lay in bed, the same bed. Aaron was wearing a t-shirt and shorts, while Ahsoka had shed her outer robes, revealing the same tube top and skirt she had worn when she was younger. "Well," said Aaron, who was staring directly into the eyes of Ahsoka as they snuggled closely "This is kind of nice."

"Yeah," said Ahsoka "It kind of is." They were silent for a few seconds as they snuggled closer to each other. "Hey Aaron can I talk to you about something?"

"Always," Aaron said warmly "What is it?"

"On Halo when you were unconscious, I nearly lost it." she said, a slightly sad tone to her voice. "I was just so angry at Ventress for what she did to you, I wanted to kill her so much. I nearly did too, I had her up against the wall and my light saber at her throat."

"What happened?" Aaron asked, a concerned look on his face.

At this point Ahsoka smiled "Your mother happened. She managed to convince me to let Ventress go. It wasn't the easiest thing in the world that I've done, but your mother made it a lot easier. She said something very special, she said that she...well...loved me," Ahsoka said blushing violently.

Aaron let out a small laugh "Yeah that sounds like something mom would do. I'm glad that she likes you," he said as he planted a kiss on Ahsoka's forehead.

"I wanted to get even that harpy back for all of the pain that she caused you," Ahsoka said, blushing slightly from the kiss. "I almost did, but then your mom reminded me of something very important. You wouldn't want me to turn my back on everything that I ever trained for, just for revenge would you?"

Aaron smiled "No I wouldn't. I'm glad that you didn't."

Little did Aaron and Ahsoka know that someone was listening in on their conversation. Aayla Secura had gotten up to use to the bathroom and had stopped on her way back to bed when she had heard voices coming out of Aaron's room. Out of curiosity she had stopped to listen in, and had overheard everything that the two had said. Tears were leaking from her eyes. "Well I'll be," she said in a slightly strangled voice "The Allied Species never run out of ways to surprise me do they?"

Two months ago, if she had overheard this conversation, she would be rushing to inform the Jedi council about this. 'Then again,' Aayla thought 'It's rude to talk about someone's love life behind their back. From what I've heard, Ahsoka has no intention of turning to the Dark Side. Although it makes sense, I remember feeling a disturbance in the Force on Halo, but there was so much going on at the time I didn't even think about it. It was her, and she was able to keep herself under control. I think I'll keep this little piece of information to myself.' Aayla smiled to herself as she walked away, heading back to bed. "A Jedi Master defying the code, well then again thousands of years ago, Jedi were allowed to have families, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if we got back to that." she paused. "The Allied Species have really affected my way of thinking haven't they? Then again, isn't it healthy to have a broader look on things?"

"You know," said Ahsoka, back in Aaron's room "Every single time I've hugged you you've had your ODST armor on. It's kind of nice to feel you without it."

"Well that sounds very naughty of you Ahsoka," Aaron said in a teasing voice as she stroked one of Ahsoka's head tails gently. Ahsoka let out a small involuntary moan as he did so. Aaron paused "Is it just me or is it time for another lesson on Trogrutan biology?"

"That might be a good idea," said Ahsoka. "These are called Lekku, but some people call them head tails. They're extremely sensitive, due in part that they're connected directly to my brain, in fact some of my Lekku are a bit of my brain. In fact if anyone was to grab them forcefully, or yank on them, they might give me brain damage, and if I'm lucky I would just be in a lot of pain."

"I guess that I shouldn't touch them then," said Aaron.

"No, no you can touch them," said Ahsoka "Just be gentle that's all. As a matter of fact, only a Togruta's spouse is usually allowed to touch his or her Lekku, so I guess that you would be the only one actually allowed to touch mine.

"But we're not married," Aaron said bluntly.

"I know," Ahsoka said, as she blushed again "But we're close enough for me to be content with you touching my Lekku."

Aaron nodded. "Do you want to?" Ahsoka looked at him with confusion in her eyes. "You know," he said "Do you want to get married one day?"

"Oh," said Ahsoka her blush darkening "One day I guess, yeah." she said in a slightly weak voice "That would be nice."

"Yeah," said Aaron "Say while we have the time, would you mind telling me what these are," he asked, pointing to the horn like growths on her head.

"Oh those are my Montrals," said Ahsoka "They're actually hollow, so don't expect me to moan if you rub them," she said in a playful voice. "They actually act as radar, allowing Togruta's to see movement around themselves. I don't use them much, due to the fact that I can do something similar with the Force."

"Huh," said Aaron, with an interested look on his voice. "There's always more to learn about you isn't there?" he asked as he leaned forward, and kissed Ahsoka, who's lips parted for him.

Back in orbit, on the _Glorious Victory_, Vadmare 'Katar was sitting on his gravity throne, when his com unit beeped. "What is it?" he asked as he put his hand to his com unit.

"Fleetmaster 'Katar," came a Sangheili's voice from the other side. "I received word that your mission was a success."

"Do you call just to flatter me?" asked Vadmare, with his trademark coldness in his voice.

"No," the Sangheili replied "I contacted you to tell you your next mission. You will carry it out once the fleet that you an Admiral Hanson are commanding is repaired."

"Have you told Hanson this?" Vadmare asked sternly.

"I just finished talking to him," said the Sangheili. "As soon as your fleet is repaired you will be transporting a VIP to the capital of the Republic for negotiations."

"May I ask who this VIP is?" asked Vadmare.

"Of course," came the reply "Councilor Thel 'Vadam."

That ends this chapter. Aayla is in on the secret, but decides to keep it that way. Now that you finished reading this, why don't you go check out my Mass Effect crossover? I hope that it will tickle your interest.


	35. Bar Brawl

Chapter 35

Bar Brawl

Like I said, I'm not abandoning this story, I'll be taking turns updating this story, and New Origins. I think I gave the Coltons enough attention last chapter, so I'll be switching gears to some of the other main characters. Well, enjoy, also please drink responsibly, and only if you are of legal age in your country or state.

"I missed looking at this," Aaron said. He was standing outside the Colton household with Emily and Amber, watching the sun rise over the horizon. It was a class A star, so it was pure white. Horizon was much farther away from it's star than Earth was, due to the fact that if was closer, the heat would be too intense to sustain life.

"Where's Ahsoka?" Amber asked, looking at Aaron.

"Still asleep," he replied, looking away from the sun and at his sister. "She looked so peaceful, I couldn't bring myself to wake her up."

Emily smiled the kind of smile only a mother could make. "Hey Amber could you go check to see if she's awake? Emily asked, looking at Amber. It could not be planner to Amber by the look that Emily was giving her, that she wanted to talk to Aaron alone.

"Yeah sure," said Amber, smiling as she got up and walked into the house.

"Aaron," Emily said, looking at her son. "I don't mean to intrude, but exactly how far have you and Ahsoka gone in your relationship?"

Aaron blushed as he replied "Not that far, we haven't even gotten to second base yet."

"Yeah, well before I go any further, a bit of advice, don't pressure her into something before she's ready. I get the feeling that you already knew this, but I was just making sure." Aaron gave a short laugh. "Anyway the main reason I wanted to talk to you is that I wanted to give you this." Emily produced a small box from her pocket and handed it to Aaron, who opened it. A small engagement ring was inside.

"Um it's a little soon to be thinking about that mom," said Aaron, looking at the ring. "We're nowhere near that point."

"I know," Emily said gently "I just thought that it would be better if I gave it to you now, so that when you are ready, you would have it."

Aaron smiled as he closed the box. "Thanks mom," Aaron said as he hugged the mother, who returned the favor.

"Anytime," she whispered to her son "Anytime."

"Hey, Ahsoka you awake?" Amber asked as she poked her head into Aaron room. Ahsoka, who was still laying sprawled across the bed, moaned softly. "Aw come on Ahsoka, up and at em."

"Five more minutes," Ahsoka moaned softly.

'This is almost laughable, she's acting like she's my little sister.' Amber paused 'That sounds very appealing,' she thought smiling 'It's like she's part of the family.' "Yeah I don't know what to tell you Aaron, I guess you'll just have to tell her later."

As if a switch had been thrown, Ahsoka sprung out of the bed, her eyes wide. "I'm up what is it...oh I see what you did there," she said smiling at Amber slyly.

"Yeah well, it got you up didn't it?" Amber asked smiling.

"Yeah I guess it did," Ahsoka said. Before Amber could say anything, Ahsoka had thrown a pillow at Amber, hitting her square in the chest.

"Oh, you're dead," Amber said, grinning as she picked up the pillow that Ahsoka had thrown at her.

"Bring it on big sister," Ahsoka said, pulling a second pillow towards herself with the Force.

"With pleasure little sister," Amber said as she held her own in a guard stance.

"You know I could get used to you calling me sister," Ahsoka said with a grin on her face.

"Same here," Amber said as she threw her pillow.

Hours later, after noon had passed and the sun had begun to set, a Pelican touched down on the opposite side of Wheatherton. Johnson, Jen, Hanson, and Ramore disembarked, heading for a local bar. Marticus and Anakin had decided to remain behind, Anakin due to the fact that Obi-Wan had practically pulled him away from the Pelican, despite his broken bones, while Marticus had simply said that Human alcohol was too weak.

"Now remember, even if we are off duty we are still Allied Species personal," Hanson said, his arm now free of his cast. "And there is a certain amount of discipline what we must maintain."

"I know what you mean," said Johnson "Trust me I learned my lesson there, you won't here any problems from me. One thing bugs me though, from what I heard this part of town is a little wilder than where the Coltons are from. Aren't you worried that someone with pick a fight with double thumbs here?" he asked, pointing his thumb at Ramore.

"If somebody wishes to challenge me," Ramore replied calmly "I will not be dishonorable and refuse them."

"Just don't kill anyone," said Jen, who had changed into her workout clothes due to the fact she had nothing else to wear besides her armor. The four walked into town, and as they did they saw a small quaint pub.

"Admiral, SPARTAN and an Elite all walk into a bar," Johnson muttered as they walked in. Johnson, Jen and Hanson sat down on stool in front of the bar. Ramore on the other hand, walked over to a corner, folded his arms, and simply watched the others. "Isn't he going to have a drink?" Johnson asked, gesturing towards Ramore who was watching them silently.

"From what I've heard Sangheili aren't exactly big on drinking," Hanson said, as the bartender slid a beer in front of him. "It's among the many things that they consider dishonorable."

"Odds are he came along just to make sure that we don't get carried away," Jen said as a glass of beer was slid in front of her.

"Ah well, no one ever said understanding Elites would be easy," Johnson said as he took a sip of his own beer. "You know when I think about it I've been sober for 45 years," he muttered to himself, chuckling quietly.

"Remind me what we're doing again?" Amber asked. She was sitting ridding in the shotgun of a civilian Warthog, Emily was driving, and Aaron and Ahsoka were sitting in the back seat, where the turret was in the military version.

"Just taking a little stroll around town," Emily said as took a left turn. "Just seeing how the town has changed. Jeez it's a lot bigger."

"Yeah," said Aaron, leaning forward slightly in his seat. "Quite a few people have moved here since...you know. Problem is, every once in awhile we get some spoiled brat from the city that cropped up about five years ago. There's a less than reputable school there, and the students tend to come here every once in awhile."

A black sedan drove alongside the Warthog. It was James' car, he was driving it, and Nicole and Aayla were riding. "You're just following her aren't you?" Aayla asked from the passenger's seat.

"Pretty much," James said, mirroring Emily's moves with his own car.

"You like her don't you?" Nicole asked from the back seat in a rather direct tone.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," James said calmly, glad that he was facing away from Nicole, as a scarlet flush was spreading across her face. Unfortunately for him, Aayla did, although she said nothing about it, although she made an mental note to talk to Jen later.

"You planning on going anywhere in particular?" James asked, pressing his hand to the com unit in his ear.

"Not really," Emily replied "Just looking around to see if anything catches my eye."

"Hm," said James, looking thoughtful "Alright, give me a shout when you see anything appropriate." Aayla looked at him thoughtfully, smiling slightly.

"This family is blessed," Aayla muttered quietly.

Back at the pub, Johnson let out a sigh as he finished his second drink and light up a cigar. Jen and Hanson were around the same pace as him, with the acceptation that Jen was slightly ahead. Ramore had set to move from his spot in the corner, and was still watching the others quietly.

Unfortunately a young man that looked like a college student was drinking beer after beer, and was looking at Ramore was a look of hatred on his face. Ramore had glanced at him once in the pass half an hour, and had simply looked away, acting as if the man didn't exist. This didn't seem to be helping the man calm down as a matter of fact it seemed to be infuriating him further.

After the man downed his sixth beer, he lost his patience and stood up, staggering towards Ramore. "Um, is that Sangheili with you?" the bartender asked Hanson.

"Yeah, why is there a problem?" Hanson asked.

"Yes, it looks someone is about to start a fight with him," the bartender said "Real stupid kid by the looks of it, probably just hates him for not being Human. Last time I checked he's pretty wasted."

"Aw shit," Johnson said, getting up from his stool as the drunk man reached Ramore.

"Hey you," the man slurred "I'm talking to you squid face," Ramore looked at him slowly. "The Hell do you think you're doing here?"

"I think you've had one too many kid," Hanson said, stepping in between Ramore and the drunk man.

"The Hell you talking about," the man said hiccuping mid sentence. "Get out of my way old man," he said as he attempted to weakly punched Hanson.

The Admiral caught the punch, a look of rage on his face. "Nobody," he said, cold fury coursing through his voice "Calls me OLD MAN!" he shouted, as his fist connected with the drunk man's jaw, sending him reeling back.

An interested look covered Ramore's face "Are you sure that the UNSC does not use the same ranking system that we do?"

"Hey," said a man who had been sitting at the same table as the drunken one, "You just punched out my friend."

"Hey he threw the first punch," Johnson said, walking forward "Hanson was acting in self defense."

"Yeah, defending a god damn alien!" the man said angrily, as three other men that were sitting at his table got up. "You saying that you would rather protect a fucking freak then a Human?"

"Well considering that Ramore's a hard working soldier, who helped save the asses of nearly every last living thing, and you're all just a bunch college assholes, I don't even need to think twice about kicking your ass," Johnson said angrily. "So why don't you shut the Hell up and sit your ass down, or get lost? Ramore was just minding is own business when you're friend decided to walk up and be a jackass."

"That's it!" the man shouted, as he threw a punch as Johnson. The Marine caught the punch, and slammed it into his knee, snapping the bone. Not letting up, Johnson slammed his knee into the man's gut who fell to the ground, moaning in pain. The three other men ran forward, one of them drawing a knife.

The two men without a knife charged, only to be intercepted by Jen, who had leaped into the fray, elbowing both men in the stomach, causing them to stager back weakly. The man with the knife charged at Ramore, who was unfazed. As he came close, Ramore grabbed him by the throat, let out a roar, and threw him across the bar, straight through the door, landing outside the bar.

Hanson approached the horror struck bartender, writing down a number on a napkin. "Call this number if you get any problems, the UNSC will be able to take care of anything."

"What the Hell?" Emily muttered, as a man came flying out of a nearby bar, landing on the sidewalk. She slowed to a stop outside of the bar, James' sedan stopping right behind her. Ramore, Johnson, Hanson and Jen all walked out of the bar, Ramore dusting off his armor.

"Um, what the Hell happened in there?" Aaron asked.

"Someone challenged us, we defeated them, that is all," said Ramore, grinning slightly.

"They threw the first punch," Johnson said defensively. "I'll fill you in later," he said "Right now I need a freaking aspirin, I forgot how stupid some college kids can be.

When I said that the characters wouldn't be fighting, I meant that they wouldn't be in any military engagements, bar fights are an exemption. Alright that was more of dividing the chapter in half than switching over, ah well good enough for me. You know I think I'm almost done with the R&R chapters, I'm going to be getting back into the action soon, maybe even next chapter.


	36. Redeployment

Chapter 36

Redeployment

Well the R&R has come to an end and it is time to get back into the action. This chapter is mainly just tying up loose ends.

"Time flies when you're having fun huh?" Aaron asked as he and Ahsoka stepped off of the Phantom that had taken them back up to the _Glorious Victory_. After two weeks, the fleet had been repaired and now they were heading back into active duty. It wad dark now, and Aaron and Ahsoka were simply heading for the nearest bed to get some sleep. "Personally I'm glad I'm still on this ship instead of the _Twilight_, I'm used to CCS-battlecruisers."

"And as always I'm glad I'm here with you," Ahsoka said smiling "Amber stayed on board the _Twilight_ though didn't she?"

"Yeah," Aaron said, as they exited the hanger bay and began to walk through the ship. "She said that she wanted to spend more time with Nicole, I swear the amount of time they spent together I actually considered the possibility that they were lesbians."

"That they were what?" Ahsoka asked, looking at Aaron with a confused look on her face.

"I guess it isn't that popular where you're from," Aaron said, more of less to himself. "A lesbian is a term for a homosexual girl, and a homosexual is someone who is sexually interested in people of the same gender."

"You can do that?" Ahsoka asked, looking just as confused as she did before, if not more so.

"Yeah from what I've heard some people...I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you," Aaron said, an exasperated look on his face. "Is there any chance that we can just act like this never happened?"

Ahsoka giggled "Sure alright," she said looking as if she was trying to keep herself from breaking down and laughing. "It's nice that James came along with us, is there any reason he chose just now to come out of retirement all of a sudden?"

"Mom easy," Aaron said plainly "Now that she's back, there's no way in heck he's going to be outside the same star system that she is. You probably picked this up while you were at our house but..."

"He likes her doesn't he?" Ahsoka asked. Aaron nodded. "Your mother has this odd thing about her. Pretty much everyone that she talks to ends up liking her."

"Not really," Aaron said as he and Ahsoka rounded a corner, heading into a lower section of the ship were the barracks were. "Amber and I still love her, because she the same woman the raised us for six years, the same woman that we remember and love, and it felt weird for awhile but I'm glad to have her back. James knew her before I was even born and they developed a very special bond with her, and like the bond she shared with me and Amber, some bonds just don't fade with time. You on the other hand, well, you're just plain likable, it's no wonder she likes you."

Ahsoka blushed slightly as she slid closer to Aaron as they walked. "Oh you're just saying that," she said in a playful voice. "This is your room right?" she asked as they walked by one of the many entrances to the rooms that acted as quarters.

"Yeah, it's good to be back," Aaron said as they walked through the door, closing it behind them.

"Yeah," Ahsoka said, turning around to face Aaron "It is."

"It's nice to have a little alone time isn't it?" Aaron asked as he gently touched Ahsoka's face. "My god you're beautiful."

Ahsoka's blush turned an even deeper of red as she raised her hand to cover the one that was touching her face. "I'm alright looking," she said softly, clearly embarrassed "I'm nothing special."

"I beg to differ," Aaron said as he leaned forward, kissing Ahsoka lightly. The Jedi let out a soft moan as she leaned forward, deepening the kiss. Aaron slowly pushed her towards the bed, gently pushing her on to it. "I love you," Aaron said as he slid next to Ahsoka on the bed.

"I love you too," Ahsoka said as she slid close to Aaron, hugging him tightly.

On the _Twilight_, Amber, Emily, James and Nicole were sitting in the cafeteria, having a before bed snack. "Aaron and Ahsoka went back to the _Glorious Victory_ right?" Nicole asked, looking at Amber.

"Yeah," Amber said "You probably didn't notice this but Aaron and Ahsoka..."

"I know, I know they're together," Nicole said, smiling with a slightly embarrassed look on her face "I...walked in on them kissing once. Heh heh, guess I should've knocked before going into Aaron's room."

"I know how that feels," Amber said, rubbing her forehead "That's exactly how I found out about them."

"Well when you're young and in love you tend to do stupid things every once in awhile." Emily said smiling. "Let the love birds have their fun. I imagine that they're a little scared that they're going to lose each other at any second. They're in the middle of a war, Aaron isn't as skilled of a fighter as Ahsoka, and then there's the fact that they have to keep it secret because Ahsoka's a Jedi...come to think of it we're not doing that good of that one," she said, chucking softly. "I mean how many people know now? All four of us, Padmé, does Anakin know?"

"I don't think so," said James, who had met Anakin when he had come down to the planet around a week ago "And I don't that he should find out."

"Why not?" Emily asked, looking at James."

"If you want grandchildren," James replied "I don't think that you should tell him. I get the feeling he's the like the overprotective father that would kill anyone that comes comes with a five foot radius of his daughter. I get the feeling that Anakin would make sure that Aaron could never 'violate' Ahsoka, if you catch my drift."

Everybody laughed at James' last sentence. "Alright," said Emily "For Aaron's wellbeing, and the possibility that Ahsoka may want to be a mother, let's agree not to mention this to Anakin." Everybody nodded.

"Speaking of kids, do you think Aaron and Ahsoka will be keen on having any?" Amber asked, a curious look on her face.

"Maybe," Emily replied "What would I kid that those two churn out be like? With Ahsoka's Jedi blood and Aaron's genetic augmentations what kind of super baby would that be?"

"I guess we just have to wait and find out," James said "Unless you feel like swiping some of Aaron's sperm, harvesting one of Ahsoka's eggs and then artificially fertilizing it."

"Yeah," Nicole said, a slightly amusing look on her face "We should just wait for them to decided that they want to have a little bundle of joy to take off."

"It might take awhile," James said "But I've seen the way that the two of them look at each other, it'll happen before we know it."

On the bridge of the _Twilight_, Hanson looked at Kit, Anakin Obi-Wan and Core who floated above the rest. "Core, is the fleet prepared to head back into Republic territory?"

"I do believe so," Core replied "Just let me run a thorough scan of the fleet. Scan complete, yes everything is ready, we should arrive at this Coruscant approximately one day."

'Fast scan,' Hanson thought "Very well, is Councilor 'Vadam aboard the _Glorious Victory_?

"Aayla contacted me from there," said Kit "The Councilor has boarded the ship, and Vadmare is ready to leave with the rest of the fleet."

"Not to be rude," said Obi-Wan, concern in his voice "But many of the Jedi council and the Senate still do not approve of the Allied Species, since many still believe that the attack on Coruscant was launched by you. Not to mention Vadmare's brutal tactics have spread around, and not many approve. There's also the fact that Ramore and Master Windu were two seconds away from trying to kill each other last time that they met."

"No one every said that diplomacy was easy," Hanson said as he rubbed his eyes in an exhausted manner "The same goes for politics, it's manly just old men and women shouting at each other and rarely getting anything accomplished. The only exception to this is the occasional revolutionary figure that pops up a couple of times per century."

Hanson smiled "Now that I think about it, Councilor 'Vadam is one of those leaders. He did lead the revolution that brought the Covenant to it's knees, and was a major leader in the War on Salvation. And with all due respect, I hope this Mace Windu doesn't try to pick a bone with Councilor 'Vadam.

"And why would that be?" asked Anakin.

"Because I doubt the Republic would appreciate Windu being dead," Hanson replied with a slight smile.

On the bridge of the _Glorious Victory_, Aayla and Vadmare were talking on the bridge. "I'm not sure that you should go on the ground when we arrive," Aayla said, a concerned ton in her voice "Not many people in the Republic won't take very well to you being there, from what I've heard you aren't very popular right now."

"I will not remain in my ship while my crew is on the ground. The last time my crew went to Coruscant they were nearly arrested by your Jedi council, I will not stand aside and allow that to happen again."

Aayla gave a sigh that had a slightly amused air to it. "Once you've made up your mind there's no changing that is there?"

The ghost of a grin flitted across Vadmare's face. "I see that you're a fast leaner when it comes to Allied Species. That's good."

Aayla looked like she was going to reply, when the door to the bridge opened. Aayla and Vadmare turned to see a Sangheili walk in. The Sangheili was wearing a dark gray armor with runes inscribed over every last visible inch. The Sangheili was also wearing a thick fur cloak over his armor, that coved a fair portion of his armor. "Councilor Vadam," said Vadmare, looking at Thel and bowing slightly in respect. "I am glad that you could join us."

"Likewise," Thel said, mirroring Vadmare's moves and bowing slightly. "I trust that you are Aayla Secura?" Thel asked, looking at the Jedi Master.

Aayla nodded. "If I may ask, why do have that cloak? I've never seen another Sangheili wear a cloak like that, is something only Councilors wear?"

Thel chuckled softly. "A fair question," he said "I made this cloak long ago. Cloaks like this were commonly used by ancient seafaring Sangheili, made out of Doarmir* fur. I fashioned this one long ago after a sparring accident that resulted in me being injured. I do not wear it very much anymore, mainly only wearing it on long spacefaring journeys, as a remember to myself that if I let my guard down, I can make horrible mistakes."

"I suppose it is critical to learn from your mistakes," Aayla said.

"Always," said Thel smiling slightly.

The door to the bridge opened again, and Sergeant Johnson walked in. "I just heard that the old son of a bitch was on board. How are you doing Arby?" Johnson asked, extending his hand to Thel.

Thel grinned as he took Johnson's hand and shook it. "I had to see it to believe it, you really are still alive."

"Alive and better than ever," Johnson proclaimed "So you really have no idea where the Chief is it?"

"The popular belief is that he is dead," said Thel "But with you still alive, who knows?"

"Who is this Chief you keep talking about?" Aayla asked.

"A SPARTAN that served during the Human-Covenant War," Vadmare replied.

"Chief isn't a SPARTAN, Chief is the SPARTAN," said Johnson "You've never seen someone fight till you've seen Chief fight," said Johnson.

"It is true," said Thel "I have seen the SPARTAN IVs train, and they pale compared to what the Spartan was capable of. He was lost on the other side of a portal during the Battle of the Art and he was assumed to be killed in action."

"But he's out there, trust me," said Johnson, grinning like madman "Just you wait."

Thel jumps on board, with a badass cloak. Let me tell you something else, he hasn't spent the last 45 years sitting on his ass twiddling his thumbs. He's even better than he was in Halo 3, so prepare to be amazed. Next chapter, back to the Republic as always review and tell me what you think.

*A Doarmir is a furry animal native to Sangheilos.


	37. Invasion

Chapter 37

Invasion

Alright people you knew that this would happen, the events of Revenge of the Sith. I am going to give you a warning, from here on out this story gets a lot darker (maybe not in this chapter, but more around order 66) than it has been so far, and in the original. So be warned, don't expect a happy, magical, everything works out ending, but don't expect the ending to be completely sad either. Alright here we go.

Hanson let out a sigh as he rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?" Hanson asked, looking at one of the Ensigns working at a terminal.

"0300 hours," said the Ensign, looking at the Admiral "So Councilor Vadam as been down there for a week."

Hanson groaned as he glanced into the cup of coffee on the right arm of his chair, it was empty. "Screw it," he muttered angrily "I'm going to bed, wake me up if anything interesting happens." Hanson yawed as he walked off of the bridge and to his private quarters. Thel had gone down to Coruscant with barely any Allied Species personal. He had gone with Vadmare, his Honor Guard and a couple hundred other soldiers that were acting as a convoy. While that was quite a few soldiers, the majority of the personal had remained on the seventeen ships. Despite the forces that he did have, the Allied Species Council was not convinced that he was secure enough, and was sending SPARTANs and more warships to reenforce his security. They were expected to arrive soon. Thel's convoy had arrived at the Jedi Temple seven days ago, and since then he had jumped back and forth between there and the Senate building, sneaking in a few hours of sleep here and there.

"This is why I'm not a politician ," Hanson muttered "Things move so god damn slow." Thel had been part of non stop negotiations for the last three days. In part he had been trying to convince the Republic of their innocence of the bombardment of Coruscant, which many still believed that were guilty of. As they had nothing besides the words of Allied Species personal, the five Jedi and Senator that had accompanied them, and Core as evidence, many Jedi and Senators had yet to be convinced that the Battle of Instillation 03 had even taken place, or that the Flood even existed.

Needless to say, this lack of progress had caused tempers to flare among the Allied Species, especially Core, who had nearly burned a hole in the Twi'lek Senator when he had suggested that the Forerunners were a fairy tale concocted by the Allied Species. It didn't help that both Obi-Wan and Anakin had been sent off on a mission to some place called Nelvaan to look for General Grievous. Still, the Allied Species had gained a handful of supporters, mainly among the Jedi Council, when they had handed over the drugged Ventress and her light sabers. They had yet to decide what to do with her, and she was being contained in a cell with a force inhibitor collar. The complexity of the situation made Hanson's head spin, and it was with great relief that he fell onto his soft bed, and fell asleep almost instantly.

"What are they going on about now?" Aaron asked in an exasperated voice, talking into his com unit. He was sitting in the passengers seat of one of six Warthogs that were parked outside of the Senate building, with Emily in the driver's seat and Amber on the turret.

"The same garbage they were talking about a hour ago if you believe it or not," Ahsoka replied. She, Aayla and Kit were all present in the Senate building, as they were testifying for the Allied Species innocent, as they had been among the Jedi present on Halo during the time of the battle. "I swear, Councilor 'Vadam has got to be the most reasonable and believable person I've ever met, and half of the Senate is refusing point blank to believe him. I swear I don't know how Padmé stands her job."

"To be honest," Padmé said, her own voice crackling across the Battle-Net "Sometimes I don't know how I stand my job either. Some time politicians are more concerned about what they want than what they need. Half of the Senate wants to go to war with the Allied Species to avenge those who died, but all that will do is cause more death, more pain, and more suffering. I don't know if we can win a war with the Allied Species, and to be perfectly honest, I'm not that interested in finding out either. The last thing that I want is Vadmare 'Katar leading a genocidal campaign of orbital bombardment across the Republic."

"That's one thing that I just don't get," Amber said frowning "You can see ground zero from here, why the Hell would you want to go to war with someone that can do that to you?"

"People don't think straight when they're angry," Emily replied "Anger can be like a parasite sometimes, it drives a person to fulfill it's needs until it is satisfied. You need to employ a massive amount of self control to ensure that anger doesn't use you as a weapon, and I know someone who did a good job of doing that," she said, the faintest bit of pride in her voice. It didn't take a genius to figure out who Emily was talking about.

"Emily..." Ahsoka said weakly "I...thanks."

"Why are you so dedicated to believing that we have the worst intentions for the Republic?" Thel asked calmly. He was standing in one of the many floating pods that filled Senate Chamber, an Honor Guard armed with an energy stave on either side of him. Aayla, Kit, Ahsoka and Vadmare stood in the same pod as him.

"It is simple really," a Togruta Senator replied "A fair portion of Coruscant and a percentage of it's inhabitance were completely destroyed by orbital bombardment, by ships that matched your designs."

"As I have explained time and time again," Thel replied, his voice still calm "That was the work of Jiralhanae Extremists. I imagine they struck this planet so that you would not lend us your support in hunting them down, which, jugging by the way you still act towards us, was very successful.

"Yes," the senator replied, the faintest of sneers present "And it is very convenient that you had to destroy everything there, so that you have no evidence to prove your innocence."

"Your being stubborn to the point that you are being ignorant," Aayla said to the senator, the tinniest hint of anger in her voice "I was there, I saw the Extremists, I saw Halo, and I saw the Flood. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers died to eliminate them all, and yet you sit here debating on weather this is a fantasy or not. Don't insult the men and women who died that day, they gave their lives to save their galaxy, just like clones sacrifice their lives every single day to ensure that the CIS doesn't conquer the Republic. Despite this, you whine and complain about the most infuriating of things, and it could not have been plainer that you have never been to a battlefield and therefore you have no idea what you are talking about. Yes, people died that day, but people have been dying every last day since the war began, and now because it happened nearby you, you start you care? You don't want justice, you want revenge, you want to go to war with the Allied Species just to make yourself feel batter about what happened, and that is just plain pathetic."

The Togruta Senator looked like he had just been punched in the face as he sat down. On the podium in the center of the chamber, Palpatine cleared his throat as he stood up. "While I wouldn't quite put it that way, Master Secura makes a very good point," he said. "We all feel a great sense of loss, but hatred towards each other will only cause more loss and more problems. I believe that the Allied Species would not commit the genocide of unarmed civilians, as many believe. And so long as I still hold my emergency powers, however briefly that I hope it will be, no engagements will be conducted against the Allied Species."

"Where did that come from?" Ahsoka whispered to Aayla, shock clearly visible on her face.

"It's irritating that's all," Aayla said "You were there, you saw the Flood, you saw what horrible creatures that they were. These people are acting like it didn't happen at all, they're acting like all life in the galaxy didn't narrowly avoid being destroyed, or worse, infected. Are you saying that I should not have done what I did?"

"No," Ahsoka said slowly "It just seemed a little out of place for you that's all. I thought Jedi Masters were supposed to solve matters peacefully," she said, grinning slightly.

'You're one to talk,' Aayla thought 'You're not exactly the best at doing what Jedi are supposed to do.' "Well in a sense that was peaceful," Aayla said in a slightly amused voice "I just had to be stern with him. Since he refused to listen to reason I had to drive it in."

"Drive it in?" asked Vadmare, looking at Aayla, an amused look on his face.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Aayla said, folding her arms defensively.

Vadmare chuckled as he looking away. "Nothing, nothing," he said in an amused voice. "I'm just glad to see that you've expanded your horizons in finding a solution to a problem."

"Further more," Palpatine continued "We need to work together to defeat the CIS or else we will..." but he was cut off as a massive explosion shook the chamber.

"What the..." Ahsoka said as she put her hand to her earpiece "Aaron what's going on?"

"CIS!" Aaron shouted over the sound of gunfire "A shit load of CIS! It looks like a goddamn invasion fleet. Damn it, their drones are suicide bombing the buildings!" he swore.

"We need to get the Chancellor to his bunker," Aayla hissed to Kit and Ahsoka, who nodded. While the Senators were panicking and running to safety, Kit, Aayla and Ahsoka propelled themselves forward with the Force, landing on the Chancellor's podium. "Chancellor, you need to come with us, we'll take you to your bunker," Aayla said hastily. Palpatine, who was strangely calm, merely nodded.

Aayla was about to direct Palpatine to the base of the podium when she heard four loud thumps. Turning around, she saw that Vadmare, Thel and the Honor Guards had landed on the podium. "Allow us to accompany you," Vadmare said.

Aayla couldn't help but smile "Alright," she said "We need to get to the bottom of the podium first before we can get to the bunker." Aayla looked like she was going to continue talking, when an explosion tore a hole in the roof of the chamber. One of the Honor Guards pulled Palpatine out of the way, as a metallic object fell through the roof, slamming into the podium where Palpatine had just been.

"Grievous," Ahsoka said coldly, as the cyborg got to his feet, throwing his cloak to the side. His eye was still blackened and swollen from Johnson's cigar.

"Yes," the General said in a malicious voice "Now then, if you will just hand over the Chancellor, I will make sure that your deaths are quick."

"That will not be the case," Thel said as he walked forward, activating an energy sword. "Vadmare, take my Honor Guards and go with the Jedi. I will take care of this."

"You?" said Grievous, who let out a laugh What makes you think that you can defeat me?" As he said this, an arm came out of each of his regular arms. All four arms took a light saber from his belt and activated it. "What do you have that I do not?"

"You mean besides depth perception?" Thel asked. Grievous growled. "Not much, but as for why you think I can defeat you let me tell you. I am Thel 'Vadam, former Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice, the Kaidon of the 'Vadam clan, the twentieth Arbiter, and Councilor of the Allied Species. I have fought and trained for a century, fighting in countless wars, against and alongside demons. I led the revolution that brought the mighty Covenant to its knees. Compared to all that, defeating you should take little effort."

"You are lucky I am in a hurry," Grievous snarled "I am here for the Chancellor, and trust me I will take him..." Grievous trailed off as he realized that he and Thel were the only ones on the Podium. "WHERE IS HE?" Grievous roared.

"He and the others snuck off while I was giving my little speech," Thel said "I must say it was quite a useful diversionary tactic."

"YOU WILL PAY!" Grievous roared as he charged at Thel, swinging his light sabers madly.

Sorry it took so long, but I live on the north most part of the East Cost of the United States, and it is getting hot up here, making it hard for me to concentrate. Still I'll do what I can for my fans. As always, tell me what you think.


	38. Chaos

Chapter 38

Chaos

Author's Note I know that it's been awhile, I decided to do this chapter so that people would see that I haven't abandoned this story. I can't help but feel that this story is heading south, in part due to me not trying hard enough, let's see if I can't save it.

Thel raised his energy sword to block an overhead blow from Grievous, then quickly darted down to block another swipe from the side. Grievous had been pressing in on him for some time now, swinging all four light sabers relentlessly, but he had been unable to so much as scratch Thel.

"This is the legendary General Grievous that has slain so many Jedi?" Thel asked, as he jumped down from the podium, landing with a thud in one of the lower pods. "I am unimpressed," he said as Grievous jumped down after him, letting out a roar of rage. Grievous stabbed forward with all four of his light sabers, forcing Thel to jump back to avoid them. As he did, Thel slashed at one of Grievous' secondary arms, severing the hand.

Reaching forward with his free hand, Thel grabbed the light saber, which was still airborne. "This blade is not yours is it?" Thel asked, as he attached the light saber to the magnetic clamp on his thigh. "You slew noble warriors and took their blades as trophies," he said, a disgusted look on his face. "Disgraceful," he said, spitting the word out as if it was a repulsive taste.

Dashing forward, Thel swung at Grievous, only to have his sword blocked inches away from the cyborgs face. "Who are you to say that?" Grievous said angrily, as he launched a vicious barrage of swings and stabs, only to have them all blocked "You are nobody!"

"Is that how it works here?" Thel asked calmly, as he sidestepped a particularly vicious swung from the General. "You are incapable of being strong, or seeing what is true unless you have a well known title?"

"SILENCE!" Grievous roared, as he swung at Thel again, only to have the Sangheili dodge it.

'He's is losing his temper,' Thel thought to himself, as he stabbed at Grievous, only to have his blade blocked 'As a result he is dropping his technique, he is getting sloppy. It will be the end of him.'

"This is fucking ridiculous!" Amber shouted angrily as she jammed down on the trigger for the turret, spraying bullets at passing vulture droids. "Exactly how many droids are they putting into this invasion?"

"As much as I agree with you Amber, I really think this isn't that best time!" Aaron shouted as he leveled his sniper rifle and leveled off a shot, taking the head off of a battle droid. 'I hope Ahsoka's alright,' he thought as he lined up another shot.

"There's a bright side to this," Emily shouted, as she drove the Warthog, intentionally running over a group of super battle droids. "The CIS would only launch an attack on the capital of the Republic if they were getting desperate to end the war. I think they now that they can't beat both the Republic and the Allied Species combined, that's why they wanted to use Halo. Since that plan went to Hell, they're trying to make up for it by launching a desperate attack on the Republic to take them out of the war."

Aaron paused for a second as he took in his mother's words. From what they had heard the Allied Species had continued their policy of Total War throughout the Outer Rim of the Republic, reportedly destroyed all CIS hardware and equipment on dozens of planets. Aaron had been so focused on current events that he had never really occurred to them by just how far of a margin that they were _winning_ this war. 'I just hope that we all get out of this alive,' he thought as he shot another droid, as Emily steered the Warthog around a corner.

"FUCK!" she swore at the top of her lungs as she found a CIS tank facing them, it's main cannon adjusting to aim at them. "EVERYONE OUT!" Emily shouted as she jumped out of the Warthog, Aaron and Amber right behind them. As they did so, the tank's cannon fired, hitting the Warthog head on, reducing it to a pile of fire and scrap.

"Son of a bitch!" Amber swore as she dashed towards the tank, reaching into her backpack and pulling out an anti-tank charge. As anti-infantry blaster on the tank opened fire, Amber slid under the fire, slapping the charge on the tank, pushing off of the tank with her feet as she did so. The charged detonated, causing the tank to explode, bits of shrapnel flying in various directions as it did.

"Amber you alright?" Aaron asked as both he and Emily helped her to her feet.

"Define alright," Amber asked in a weary voice as she got to her feet. "I feel like my insides were stuck inside a blender then put back in me. After this war is over, I think I might retire from the ODSTs and I'll find work somewhere on Horizon."

"Trust me you're not the only one," Aaron said, as he and Emily rested Amber against a nearby building. "I'm thinking maybe I'll go to medical school and become a doctor."

Amber smiled weakly as she looked at her brother "That seems like a good idea," she said, as she turned to face her mother "What about you mom?"

"I'm not the same person I used to be, fighting isn't all I know anymore," Emily replied, smiling warmly "Maybe I'll write an auto-biography, people just love reading about SPARTANs. Maybe I'll write some books about this war, the Human-Covenant War, and the War on Salvation while I'm at it."

"Sounds like a plan," Amber said "Just one question Aaron, when exactly are you going to pop the question?" she asked, smiling slyly. "I think practically everyone that knows about you and Ahsoka knows that it'll work out in the long run."

"I dunno," Aaron replied, used to his sisters teasing "Maybe after the war is over, hardly seems romantic to propose in the middle of a battlefield."

"Hey you never know," Emily replied, putting a comforting hand on her son's shoulders "It might be if you pull it off right, like after a major victory, or while your on a ship of a station that gives you a good view of space. I swear there's something about a view like that is just plain captivating."

"I'll think about it," Aaron said, smiling slightly, which faltered as a rumbling noise was heard. The Coltons turned around weapons raised, to see a Scorpion rolling around the corner.

It came to a stop as the hatch was opened. "Anyone need a lift?" Johnson asked as he poked his head out of the hatch, and James waved from the gunners position.

"Nice," Emily said as they got to their feet.

"You can thank James here for finding this thing," Johnson said, pointing with his thumb at James. "He knows what the ladies like."

"I thought we were supposed to keep the Chancellor safe!" Ahsoka shouted so that she could be heard over the roar of the wind as she and the others stood on top of a speeding hovertrain. They had jumped onto one that passed nearby the Senate Building and were ridding it to the Chancellor's bunker. "I really doubt that the top of a hovertrain is the safest place for someone of his age Aayla," she said, turning to face the Jedi Master, her Lekku flowing in the wind as she did so.

"I assure I will be just fine miss Tano," Palpatine said, as he crouched on the top of the hovertrain, smiling slightly "I'm not completely helpless." 'Far from it,' he thought.

"It take us around ten more minutes to get there," Aayla said, looking at the tracks on front of the hovertrain. Like Ahsoka, her Lekku were flowing in the strong wind. "We've got company!" she shouted, pointing towards series of oncoming distant shapes. As it drew closer, it became obvious that they were hover bikes, each carrying a Magna Guard with the exception of the one in the middle, which carried a man. "Dooku," Aayla hissed as the bikes flew overhead, the Count jumping off and landing on the hovertrain along with the Magna Guards.

"Master Secura, Master Fisto, Miss Tano, it is truly wonderful to see you," Dooku said, maintaining his usual polite voice. "I really see no need for this meeting to turn messy, simply hand over the Chancellor and we will walk away."

"And become disgraceful whelps in the process?" one of the Honor Guards said angrily. "I think not," he said, as he activated his energy stave, causing the blade to glow bright blue, his comrade mimicking his move.

"We are not ones for surrendering," Vadmare said dangerously, activating his energy sword, as Ahsoka, Aayla and Kit ignited their light sabers.

"If you insist," Dooku said calmly, igniting his light saber as the staffs of his Magna Guards burst to life. Dooku lunged forward, stabbing at Aayla, who quickly blocked his lunge, countering with a swipe of her own, with was also blocked. Dooku made to strike again, but was forced to block a swing from Ahsoka, who had flanked him, attempting to catch him off guard.

The Magna guards, six in total, charged forward, only for two of them to be impaled and collapse as the Honor Guards threw their energy staves at them. As the remaining Magna Guards closed in on the Sangheili and Kit, the Honor Guards took energy swords from their place on their thighs and activated them.

Swinging widely, the Magna Guards attempted to skewer their opponents, only to have their staffs be blocked by their opponents. Vadmare blocked the staff of one Magna Guard, before ripping the staff out of the droid's hands and impaling the machine with it, kicking it off of the hovertrain afterwards. Kit blocked the staff of another Magna Guard, then quickly crouched and cut one of the droid's leg, stabbing it as it fell to the ground.

Swinging their staves in wide sweeps, the remaining two Magna Guards pressed forward, actually forcing their opponents onto the train cart behind the one that Ahsoka, Aayla and Dooku were fighting on.

Aayla and Ahsoka began a relentless assault on Dooku from both sides, and despite the Count blocking a handful of blows by the skin of his teeth, he remained unharmed. Jumping back, away from Ahsoka and Aayla, Dooku saw the Magna Guards fighting their opponents on the car behind theirs. Grinning, Dooku threw his light saber, guiding it with the Force, and watched as it severed the cable connecting the two cars. While the car they he was standing on continued to speed forward, all of the cars behind it began to slow, as they quickly dropped out of sight.

On the slowing car, Vadmare stared at the hovertrain speeding away while the Honor Guards dispatched the remaining droids. "It is in your hands now Secura, you as well Tano," he said to himself.

Ahsoka and Aayla glanced around and quickly realized that they were alone on the car with Dooku and Palpatine. 'Gotta remember that one if we're ever on a hovertrain again,' Ahsoka thought.

"I see age as not dulled you speed Dooku," Aayla said, looking at the Sith "Rather the reverse."

"I thank you for your kind words Master Secura," Dooku said, bowing his head slightly "But it will not save you."

"Shame," Ahsoka said, grinning slightly as they began to swing their light sabers again.

"Fire MAC!" Hackett shouted, as he leaned forward in his chair on the bridge of the _Twilight. _The ship's main gun fired, tearing a hole in a CIS ship as it did so. The seventeen ships that had survived the battle of Instillation 03 were in tight formation, firing everything they had at the CIS and doing their best to help the Republic, which had been caught off guard.

"Damn it this isn't going well," Nicole swore, as she typed into a terminal, issuing commands to the rest of the ship. While the CIS were mostly focusing on the Republic ships, the Allied Species ones were taking a ponding, eight having lost shields, and the ones on the other nine were dropping fast.

'She's right," Hackett thought to himself 'We're too heavily outnumbered. If this keeps up I'll have no choice but to give the order to retreat.' Hackett grimaced, the last thing he wanted to do was abandon the Republic in it's time of need, but there was no way in Hell he was going to sacrifice men just to make the Allied Species look good.

"Sir!" Nicole shouted, looking away from her terminal "I'm picking up a slipspace rupture not to far away from the battle zone. The IFF from the ships registers them as Allied Species!"

Hackett's earpiece beeped the moment she finished speaking. As he raised his hand to it a feminine voice spoke into it. "This is Admiral Jane Patterson, all Allied Species ships hold on, we are on route to assist in repelling the CIS. We have SPARTANs on board, these bastards won't know what hit em.

Author's Note: Once again I know that it's been awhile, but I hope you enjoy it. Please note what with me writing two fan fics, school about to start, me getting a job in a few days, and me writing my original work on the sidelines I won't be able to update my fics as much as I would like. I hope that you can wait and will still enjoy them.


	39. Turning Point

Chapter 39

Turning Point

Author's Note: Since the the last New Origins chapter didn't end on a cliffhanger, I decided to get some work done here. All right. let's get this show on the road. By the way, for those of you who want an idea of what Ahsoka looks like in this story, I found a picture on Deviant art that I think is pretty good, be sure to check it out and comment on it (I didn't draw it raikoh14 did) it's at

http:/raikoh14(dot)deviantart(dot)com/gallery/#/d2osxyk (dot) = .

"Remind me why we're standing guard here when the CIS is bombing the hell out of the city," a Marine asked, as he glanced at a Human Jedi Knight holding a bright blue light saber. He, the Jedi and another Marine, were standing in front of a massive metal door in the middle of a prison.

"Ventress is inside here," the Jedi replied cooly "We don't want the CIS to release her. If the Force inhibitor collar she's wearing is removed she will be able to wreck havoc on the galaxy again."

"The CIS tore a hole in her chest the last time that they met," the second Marine said "I think freeing her is the last thing that they'll do, if anything they'll want to finish the job that they started."

The Jedi grimaced, but before he could say anything, the building rumbled violently. "The Vulture Droid's suicide bombing has spread to this area," he said "Be cautious, you never know when..." but he was cut off as there was a loud explosion from above, and the ceiling began to cave in. "Look out!" the Jedi shouted, as all three men threw themselves out of the way of the debris, as the remains of a Vulture Droid slammed into where they had just been standing.

The Jedi let out a cough as dust began to rise, obscuring his vision. "Are you two all right?" he asked, looking around for the Marines, unable to see them. As the dust began to thin, he glanced back at the door to Ventress' cell. The Vulture Droid had smashed it open and it was empty. The very second at the Jedi spotted this, he felt a hand tighten around his wrist, and before he knew what was happening, his own light saber had been thrust through his chest.

Smiling slightly, Ventress took the light saber in her hand as the Jedi fell to the ground, dead. Raising it to her throat, she carefully cut off the Force inhibitor collar around her throat. "So Dooku wants me dead, that means that the CIS wants me dead," she said softly, mostly to herself. "With the Republic, Allied Species and CIS after me, it's time to call it quits. If I can get to the Outer Rim, no one will ever find me."

"OH SHIT!" one of the Marines shouted, as they both spotted Ventress and opened fire at her. Blocking their bullets, Ventress dashed forward and viciously decapitated one Marine, before turning around and killing the other with Force Lighting.

"I wonder," she said, recalling seeing Allied Species soldiers communicate with one another. Ripping the com unit out of one of the Marine's helmet, she held it up to her ear, listening for any useful information.

"I repeat," Ahsoka's voice said over the Battle-Net "Master Secura and I are fighting Count Dooku on a hovertrain heading for the Chancellor's bunker." We must protect the Chancellor at any cost, if anyone is able to assist...Damn it!" she shouted, and ceasing talking as a sound that sounded like a light saber on a light saber was heard.

Ventress gave a small smile as she dropped the com unit. "I suppose before I grab a ship to get out of here I might as well watch Dooku kill the brat," she said, as deactivated the light saber that she had taken and attached it to her belt. "And if by some miracle she survives," she added as she began to walk outside "She'll be weary from the fight, and I'll finish her."

Jen grimaced as she swung her katana, slicing through a droid as if it was made out of sheet metal. She was defending the front of the Jedi temple along with a handful of Jedi, clones, and Allied Species soldiers, Marticus among them. Most of both were either stationed elsewhere, or were simply not on the planet.

A massive amount of droids, thousands at the very least, were pressing on their position, even a SPARTAN had trouble against those kinds of numbers. 'This is hopeless," Jen thought "FALL BACK!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, even as Marticus swung his hammer, smashing a dozen droids. "We can't hold this position anymore, get inside the temple!"

"Allied Species, hold your position!" a voice shouted from above. Nearly everyone looked up to see ten Pelicans floating above the temple, five SPARTAN IVs jumping out of each one. They all hit the ground with tremendous thuds, cracks sprouting from around their feet. They held a variety of weapons, some had assault rifles, others SMGs, a few sniper rifles, a couple even had turrets in their hands and all of them had katanas sheathed on their back.

"Fall back?" a female SPARTAN said in a teasing voice, as she landed next to Jen "Kevin, I think Jen is going soft on us."

"Oh come on Alice don't be cruel," Another SPARTAN sad as he landed on the other side of Jen. "She fought on Halo, only one other SPARTAN had done that and she did it pretty well."

Jen chuckled "It's been awhile you two," she said, as Alice and Kevin both drew their katanas "Any chance that you can help me out here?"

"Why do you think we came here in the first place?" Alice asked, her smile hidden by her helmet.

"Let's do this," Kevin said, as they swung their katanas at the oncoming droids.

"Damn it!" Ahsoka shouted, as she was forced to take her hand away from her earpiece to block a swipe from Dooku. She and Aayla had been pressing in on him for the last ten minutes, but Dooku had gotten his position because he was far from a pushover. Ashoka swung her light saber in a sweeping manner, but Dooku jumped over the blade, swiping at Ahsoka as he did so. Ahsoka pushed with her feet against the roof of the hovertrain, pushing herself out of the way of Dooku's light saber.

'This is bad,' she thought to herself as she started to get up. 'My fighting style is about speed, while his is about precision, no matter how fast I move I can't get a blow in.'

"Ashoka," Aaron's voice said over the Battle-Net, as Ahsoka "I'm on my way, your not too far away. I should be able to find a place where I can get a few shots at the hovertrain. The others are dealing with CIS armor, so I'm coming alone, hold on!"

'I don't know if he'll be much help against Dooku,' Ahsoka thought "But if we distract him, just maybe."

"Ah," Dooku said, looking towards the sun, "It appears that my transport is here." Both Aayla and Ashoka looked to where Dooku was looking, and saw that a gunship was indeed flying towards the hovertrain. Dooku smiled as he pulled Palpatine towards himself with the Force, grabbing him by the collar as he jumped backwards onto the frontmost train car.

No sooner had he done so, then the gunship had let loose a barrage of missiles, aimed at the car Ahsoka and Aayla were still one. Aayla propelled herself forward with the Force, jumping onto Dooku's train car just as the missiles hit. Ahsoka, on the other hand, had yet to completely regain her balance and was not so lucky.

"AHSOKA!" Aayla shouted in a panicked voice, as the missiles impacted on the train car, destroying the car coupler and derailing the car. Panicking, Ahsoka drew the Force around her as she attempted to protect herself, and slow her fall, as the car fell towards the ground. She was successful...partially. As she fell off of the burning car, she hit the hard ground a sickening crack ringing in her ears as she involuntary let out out a dry sob.

Ahsoka attempted to stand up, only to let out a yelp of pain as she attempted to put weight are her right leg. "For the love of..." she whispered silently. "If anyone can hear me, this is Ahsoka Tano," she said into her earpiece "I was forced off of the hovertrain and I can't move due to a broken leg, please I need help," she said, hoping to God that the Coltons were listening.

"Oh dear," said a cold taunting voice that made Ahsoka's blood go cold.

'Not now,' she thought desperately 'Anytime but now.' Ahsoka turned her head and saw, to her horror, Ventress standing not that far away, a blue light saber in hand.

"Aw," Ventress said tauntingly "Skywalker's brat went and broker her leg, what a shame. I'll make you a deal, give me back my light sabers and I'll make your death painless."

"You really are obsessed with me aren't you," Ahsoka said, trying to sound confident even thought she was actually desperately stalling for time. "Does Obi-Wan know that you're cheating on him?"

"Very funny," Ventress said angrily "You would be obsessed with someone too if they stuck a knife in your throat and left you for dead. Now give me my light sabers, or suffer."

Ahsoka let out a sigh as she reached for her belt and took out Ventress' curved light sabers, she was really going to regret what she was about to do. "These?" Ashoka asked. Ventress nodded, a small smirk on her face. "Good," Ashoka said "Wanted to make sure I didn't have the wrong ones." In the blink of an eye, Ahsoka had brought her own light saber down on Ventress', cutting them in half. Ahsoka allowed herself a grim smile as the served halves of Ventress' light sabers fell to the ground, their crystals shattered.

Ventress' face hardened as she looked at the severed halves of her weapons. "Just for that," Ventress said coldly "I am going to redefine your definition of pain." Without warning, Ahsoka threw her light saber, which sliced through Ventress' light saber, and continued to soar through the air, until it landed out of sight. "Before I kill you," Ventress said in a voice that suggested that she was about to explode "Why did you aim for my light saber and not me?"

"Simple," Ahsoka said allowing herself one last smug smile as she was too tired from fighting Dooku and the fall to conjure up any more Force moves. "You would have expected me to throw it at you and you would've blocked it. You wouldn't expect me to aim for your light saber, that way I managed to get one last insult in."

"I hope it was worth it," Ventress said angrily "Because now I"M REALLY MAD!" she shouted, as lightening shot out of her hands, enveloping Ahsoka as the Togruta began to shriek in pain. "This is for every single moment of agony I've been put through since this war started!" Ventress roared, as she intensified the lightening, and Ahsoka's screams grew louder. "I was stabbed by the freak in the Outer Rim, stabbed in the throat by you on Ryloth, punched by you on Halo, clubbed by that wretch of a woman, and finally betrayed by Dooku!"

In the midst of her screaming Ahsoka managed to form a few concrete thoughts. 'What the Hell was I thinking?' she thought, mentally kicking herself. 'Why did I provoke her? To give my ego one last boost before I die?'

After what seemed like an entirety, Ventress stopped her assault, leaving Ahsoka fighting for air as she panted heavily on the ground. It was taking all of Ahsoka self control not to cry as Ventress glared at her and her still aching body roaring in agony. "As satisfying as that was," Ventress said looking at the helpless Padawan that lay before her "I don't think that it was enough. Maybe I should go find your boyfriend and torture him while I force you to watch."

Despite every last inch of her self control and will screaming at her not to do so, the idea of Aaron to electrocuted by Ventress, and being completely drained and helpless to do anything about it, Ashoka couldn't help it as she began to quietly sob. Upon noticing that the Jedi was crying, Ventress grinned evilly. "Oh, this takes the cake," she said sadistically. "How the mighty have fallen," she said as she raised her hands again, this time for the kill. "I'll tell your master and boyfriend how you died, crying on the ground like the worthless piece of trash that you..." Ventress was cut short as she drew in sharply, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.

Looking down, she saw Ahsoka's light saber jutting out of her chest. As she craned her neck to look behind her, she saw Aaron holding the light saber, his fury hidden behind his helmet. Letting out a roar, Ventress gathered Force lightning in her and and swung at Aaron's face. Aaron ducked the blow, as he pulled Ahsoka's light saber out of Ventress' chest. Normally he would not have dodged the blow, but the hole in Ventress' chest was slowing her down considerably. As Ventress gathered more lightening in her hand, Aaron swung Ahsoka's light saber at Ventress' throat. It connected. Ventress' head fell from her body as the rest of her body collapsed, never to rise again. Aaron stared at the body, completely shocked that he had just killed Ventress considered the fact that in their last encounter she had put him in the hospital.

"Aaron," Ahsoka said weakly, as she attempted to force herself into a sitting position, but winced at she did so.

"Ahsoka," Aaron said, deactivated the light saber as he turned to face the Togruta. "Don't move," he said as he activated the medical scanner on his forearm and checked it. "You broke your leg in three places," he said looking at the scanner "Count yourself lucky it wasn't a complex fracture."

"Aaron," Ashoka said softly "How did you do that?"

"I was trying to get a good sniping position when I saw that that car had been derailed," Aaron replied, as he took off his helmet, and placed it on his back. "I saw your light saber and grabbed it, then I heard you screaming," he said, scowling as he spoke. "I saw Ventress electrocuting you, and I wanted to help, and I had your light saber. I just acted," he said as he produced a syringe and injected Ahsoka with Morphine.

"Wow," Ahsoka said, managing a smile "Thanks."

"Ah it was nothing," Aaron said "You did the same for me already, I was just returning the favor. By the way you'll want this back," he said, handing Ahsoka her light saber, who took it.

"Thanks," Ahsoka said again, as she attached it to her belt. "Just one question, I'm not exactly in much of a state to walk, how are we supposed to get out of-Oh," she said in surprise, as Aaron reached under her and picked her up bridal style. "Um," Ahsoka said, blushing furiously at the close proximity as Aaron began to walk "I guess this works I mean...what's so funny?" she asked, noticed that Aaron had a rather large grin on his face.

"Sorry," he said "But you just look so cute when you blush that's all."

"Oh," Ahsoka said, not quite her what to think of that. It was then that she noticed that there was a small box sticking out of one of Aaron's pockets. It had apparently been shaken around since the invasion, because it looked like it was about to fall out. "You've gat to be a little more careful Aaron," she said as she took to box out of his pocket, not noticing the look of horror that spread across his face as she did so. She continued to talk as she opened the box "You almost lost your...your..." she said, her voice dying as she saw the contents of the box. She felt tears flowing to her eyes again as she looked at the engagement ring. 'He...he is so sweet,' she thought weakly.

Thoughts were flying through Aaron's head too, although they were much less pure. 'FUCK!' he mentally swore 'SON OF A FUCKING BITCH! SHIT! MOTHERFUCKER!' This was not how he had intended for Ahsoka to find out about that ring, he had actually yet to come up with a plan, but this was nowhere close to what he had imaged. "Um," he said nervously, coming to a halt "This isn't exactly how and when I wanted this to happen. I hope that you can understand that I was waiting for a more ideal time, you know something more romantic for us to..."

"Yes," Ahsoka said simply. A confused look spread across Aaron's face. 'What is she talking about?' he wondered 'Is she saying, 'yes I understand why this happened, or is she saying to dismissively as if she doesn't want to talk any...' and then it clicked. 'Did she just say yes to...nah she wouldn't...would she?' "Ahsoka," he said cautiously "When you say yes..."

"Yes," Ahsoka repeated taking the ring out of the box, smiling as tears began to leak out of her eyes. "After all you did just basically ask me to marry you."

"That...I...But you...And..." Aaron stuttered hopelessly as his mind desperately tried to comprehend the situation. He hadn't even been trying to propose, yet Ahsoka had found the ring and said that she would do it. 'Well I did want to do it soon,' Aaron thought 'And she said yes, and theres is no way in Hell I'm backing down now.' Afraid that works would fail him again, Aaron leaned in and kissed Ahsoka deeply, the Togruta returning the favor eagerly. "I love you," he said as he pulled away, looking into Ahsoka's bright blue eyes as they shinned with tears of joy.

"I love you too," she said as she slipped the ring onto her finger. "Aaron, it's beautiful."

"You can thank Mom for that one," Aaron said as he continued to walk again, still holding Ahsoka. "She gave me it, it used to be her old one. Sorry it couldn't be more romantic."

"More romantic?" Ahsoka said in an incredulous voice. "You just saved my life, your carrying me because my leg's broken, and I found an engagement ring in your back pocket. If you think that this isn't romantic enough I'm almost disappointed I found the ring and didn't get to see what you were planning."

Aaron chuckled as he kissed Ahsoka on the forehead. "Aw well," he said "Quick word of advice, don't let anyone, espically Jedi, see that ring. So yourself a favor and don't let Emily and Amber see it until your leg's healed."

"Why?" Ahsoka asked, clearly confused.

"More likely than not they'll tackle hug you out of joy, and with a broken leg that'll really hurt." Ahsoka smiled as she snuggled closer to Aaron's chest, very comfortable in his arms. A whole new world of possibilities had opened up for their relationship, and she was very edgar to explore it.

Author's Note: Just so you know, Ventress is going to stay dead this time, I seriously doubt that a force trance can help you if you've been decapitated.

This chapter was mainly focused on Aaron and Ahsoka, the next couple of chapters will wrap up this battle.

In other news I've just purchased the Lair of the Shadow Broker and I intend to have a great time with it. Also five more days until Reach. Ugh the wait is killing me. I need to say this because this 343 industries most likely won't even come close to touching Bungie. Farewell Halo, may you go out with a bang with what is without a doubt the best game of the series RIP Halo 2001-2010


	40. Battle's Peak

Chapter 40

Battle's Peak

Author's Note: This chapter and the next one should finish up the battle of Coruscant, also once I am finished with either this story of Mass Effect New Origins, I will begin to write a new fan fic, I already have a couple of ideas.

"Well, we have made a very important scientific discovery today," Johnson said, as he lit a cigar and took a drag on it. "CIS tanks are inferior to UNSC tanks, but hey, even in the Human-Covenant War Scorpions always beat Wraiths head on." The Scorpion tank that he was driving was sitting in a narrow road, not moving forward due to the fact that it was blocked by three burning CIS tanks.

"Man," James said, as he sat on the Scorpion along with Emily and Amber "Mickey would sing if he was here. He would love blowing up the CIS with a superior tank."

"How is Mickey?" Emily asked, looking at James.

"Fine," James replied "Man it's really been a while since we've seen them. I haven't seen them since..." he trailed off, looking at Emily. "Your funeral," he finished.

Amber shook her head. "I cried my eyes out that day, so did Aaron. Speaking of Aaron where is he?" she asked, clearly eager to change the subject.

"I don't know," Emily replied. Aaron had left fifteen minutes ago upon hearing that Ahsoka had needed help dealing with Dooku. He had yet to return or make radio contact.

"I'm getting a little worried," Amber said. "I can only think of two things that happened. Either something went wrong or...SOMEONE'S A LADIES MAN!" she shouted in a teasing voice as Aaron came into view, still carrying Ahsoka.

"Oh shut it," Aaron said as he laid Ahsoka down by the Scorpion "She broke her leg, that tends to happen when a gunship fries the train that you're on."

"Are you alright?" Emily asked, her motherly instincts kicking in as she leaned in to look at Ahsoka more closely. "What happened?"

"Oh this and that," Ahsoka said. "The hovertrain that I was on was shot by a gunship and I broke my leg on the way down. Ventress broke out of prison, but she won't be bothering us us anymore.

"You killed her?" Amber asked "Thank God, I don't have to worry about her going for putting Aaron in the hospital for the third time."

"Well...," Ahsoka said, rubbing the back of her neck, slightly embarrassed. "I wasn't the one who killed her, my leg was broken when she found me. I had lost my light saber and she was taking advantage of the situation to electrocute me. Aaron managed to stab her in the back and then cut her head off."

Emily chuckled as she put her hand on her son's shoulder. "I knew that I raised you right. Or that James did, either way I'm proud of you Aaron." While she was speaking, she saw a glint out of the corner of her eye, and turned her head to see the ring on Ahsoka's finger. 'Guess that was a good idea,' she thought, smiling but keeping her mouth shut. 'They can tell everyone else when they're ready.'

"Can anyone hear me?" a voice said over the Battle-Net "This is Obi-Wan Kenobi, the forces commanded by Anakin and I have returned and we are ready to provide assistance.

Ahsoka smiled as she took her hand away from her ear. "It looks like this fight is as good as over," she said.

XXXXX

'Damn it this is bad!" Aayla swore to herself, something she never would have done a couple of months ago, as she desperately blocked an overhead blow from Count Dooku. With the fight having been dragged out as long as it had been, Aayla was beginning to show signs of exhaustion, while Dooku showed no signs of slowing down.

It didn't help that Dooku's gunship kept strafing the top of the train, forcing Aayla to dodge the bolts it was sending at her in addition to Dooku's light saber. Aayla held her light saber in a guarding pose, panting heavily as she faced Dooku, who smiled slightly.

"As impressive as it is that you managed to last this long Master Secura, I really must be going," Dooku said. As he said this, the gunship flew overhead the back door opening. Dooku grabbed Palpatine and threw him into the gunship as it descended. "We will meet again another..." Dooku was interrupted as Aayla used up the last of her energy as she dashed forward, swiping her light saber at Dooku's face. Instinctively, Dooku jumped back, but the light saber still managed to make a shallow cut on his right cheek. Dooku extended his palm, the Force Push that he projected blasting Aayla off of her feet and to the far side of the train. "I will see you another time," he said smiling slightly as he boarding the gunship. the door closing behind him. "Damn it," Aayla said softly getting to her feet as she watched the gunship fly towards the sky.

Inside the gunship, Palpatine turned to face Dooku. "You certainly took your time down there."

"Ah well," Dooku said, as he rubbed his scratch "She was a fiery one. Anyway we must retrieve Grievous, most likely he has finished off that Allied Species Councilor by now." Dooku couldn't be father from the truth.

XXXXX

Grievous let out a roar of rage as Thel sliced off his remaining secondary arm, catching the light saber and attaching it to a clamp, along with the other. What frustrated Grievous to no end was not the way the Thel cut off his arms, that had already happened to him on numerous occasions, nor was it the way he had acquired his light sabers. What angered him was that Thel had not used his acquired light sabers, as if it was beneath him to use any blade but his own.

"WHY WON'T YOU DIE!" Grievous roared, as he slashed at Thel with both of his remaining light sabers. Thel jumped backwards, out of the pod that they were standing in and into a lower pod.

"Because I refuse to," Thel said calmly, looking up at Grievous, who let out a roar of rage as he jumped down, swinging his blades wildely. With absolute precision, Thel dodged the blows and threw a sweep kick at Grievous, knocking him off balance. As Grievous fell to the ground Thel raised on of his hoofed feet and brought it down on Grievous' chest, hard. The plating buckled under the strain as Thel forced his foot down, a faint popping noise making it's way to his ears. Thel jumped back as Grievous kicked out with his feet, watching the General scramble to his feed, some sort of fluid leaking out of his chest.

"You..." Grievous said, attempting to speak but began to cough violently before he could finish. "When I get my hands on," he said before falling to another coughing fit.

"It would appear that I have caused massive organ trauma," Thel muttered, mostly to himself. "This fight will not last much longer," he said as he raised his energy sword. Before he could do anything however, prat of the wall to the senate chamber was blown off and a gunship flew in, firing at Thel. Undaunted, the Councilor jumped off of the pod that he was in, grabbed the bottom of another pod and swung forward, jumping to another pod.

As Thel turned to face the gunship, he saw it lowering to where Grievous was, and saw the General scramble into the gunship. He also managed to catch a glance of Palpatine in the gunship. "Get me back to the flagship already!" Grievous shouted as the door closed behind him and the gunship flew away, not paying any attention to Thel.

Thel let out a sigh, not one of anger or frustration, but one of disappointment. "It was a shame that I could not finish the job that I had started," he said as he deactivated his energy sword, reattaching it to his hip. "Councilor Vadam to all Allied Species personal," he said, reaching for his com unit, as he wiped a layer of dust off of his cloak with his free hand. "General Grievous has retreated, alive but possible crippled. Palpatine has been captured by the CIS and is being taken to the CIS flagship. All orbital combat units, identify and disable the CIS flagship and recover Palpatine alive and unharmed."

XXXXX

Miles above the planet's surface, Ramore heard Palpatine's message as he sat in his Seraph fighter, in the middle of a vicious dog fight with a Vulture droid. As he scored several direct hits, causing the droid to explode in a ball of fire, his eyes darted back and forth, looking for anything that faintly resembled a flagship. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a massive warship that was defiantly not an Allied Species one, and didn't resemble the Republic ones in anyway.

Turning to face the warship, he accelerated his fighter to maximum speed, heading straight for the flagship, guns blazing at any enemy fighters that got in the way. As he tore through the chaotic battle, narrowly avoid hitting debris from an Allied Species destroyer, he came across two fighters heading in the same direction as him, Jedi star fighters.

"Skywalker, Kenobi," he said over the Battle-Net. "So nice of you to accompany me to the CIS flagship."

"Accompany you? I don't think so pal," Anakin said "We're heading off to save the Chancellor, but you welcome to tag along if you want to."

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said in an annoyed voice "Now is really not the time to-missiles!" he shouted. Sure enough, Vulture droids had fired homing missiles at the Jedi fighters, two at each.

"Time to get fancy!" Anakin shouted as he dove sharply, the missiles following him. Obi-Wan swerved violently, attempting to shake the missiles, but the managed to mirror his every move. Even when he dove through the wreckage of a CIS ship and emerged on the other side, the missiles were able to keep up with him.

"Kenobi!" Ramore shouted as he speed after the General "Hold still!"

"WHAT!" Obi-Wan shouted over the Battle-Net "Are you crazy?"

"JUST DO IT!" Ramore roared as he closed the distance between him and Obi-Wan. Reluctantly, Obi-Wan began to slow, allowing the missiles to close in on him, only to be blasted by the plasma cannons.

"Thanks for that one," Obi-Wan said in a relieved voice "We should probably go and help Anakin."

"I think he is fine," Ramore said, glancing out of the side of his fighter to look at Anakin. Anakin's fighter with plowed forward, spinning violently, the missiles mimicking his moves, coming closer and closer to each other until they finally hit each other and exploded.

"Not bad eh master?" Anakin asked as the three fighters flew directly towards the flagship. "Everything's falling into place."

"Oh yes Anakin, everything's falling into place, except you forgot one thing," Obi-Wan said in a dangerously calm voice.

"And what would that be?" Anakin asked.

"THE FIGHTER BAY'S SHIELDS ARE STILL UP!" Obi-Wan roared over the Battle-Net.

"Whoops," Anakin said, as his fighter sped forward, blasters firing at the flagship. The bolts impacted next to the shield and it fell, unfortunately as it did, an emergency door began to slide shut at an alarming rate.

"Oh I have a bad feeling about this," Obi-Wan said as all three of the fighters sped towards the flagship, the door already halfway closed. They managed to slip in, just as the doors closed behind them. All three of the fighter's skid across the floor, their pilots ejecting as they did, energy swords and light sabers bursting to life. The handful of droids that were present in the fighter bay did not last very long.

"All right," Anakin said, turning to face his fighter. "R2 I need you to locate the Chancellor." A small blue robot ejected itself from the fighters, landing on two "feet" and beginning to roll towards a computer terminal on the far side of the hanger bay.

"If I amy inquire, what is that?" Ramore asked, pointing at the robot.

"That's R2D2," Anakin replied "He's me astromech droid, he keeps my fighter together in fights among other things. He should be able to hack the computers and tell us where the Chancellor his hiding. Dooku won't know what hit him."

Author's Note: I felt like I couldn't go through this story without giving R2 a little bit of love. I know that it's a little short but I couldn't really come p with much, hopefully the next chapter will be longer, and after the battle of Coruscant I already have the next "arc" planned out.

Now before I go, I have two important matters to address. First off the final episode of season 8 of Red vs Blue came out today, I recommend that you watch it, it is epic to say the least. Also, after months of waiting, Halo Reach comes out tomorrow, Bungie's last Halo game. May many Covenant die in the invasion (But leave a couple of Sangheili alive, they will be helping us in a couple of games after all) Also may many fall to you gun online, anyone else who wants to butt heads in slayer, my gamer tag is Macdonald210. Let's send Bungie out with a bang, see you online.


	41. Tempted

Chapter 41

Tempted

Author's Note. Well I just got off of Reach...so many deaths, so many people re spawning, so many head shots. Yeah it was a pretty good game, but the campaign, I won't spoil it, I knew that Reach was doomed from the start but DAMN! Bungie was BRUTAL!

"Lord Sidious," Dooku said, approaching Palpatine's revolving chair on the bridge of the CIS flagship. "When I ordered the train Tano was on to be derailed, a Vulture Droid flew overhead to confirm her death. She did not die, but it managed to capture something that you may find useful."

Dooku handed a data pad to Palpatine, who pressed a button causing a video to play. As he video played, Palpatine saw and heard Aaron holding Ahsoka in his arms, Ahsoka finding the engagement ring in Aaron's pocket, and agreeing to mary him. A smile broke across Palpatine's face as he tucked the data pad into his robes. "Thank you Dooku," he said politely "I have a feeling that this information will be very useful."

"Yes master," Dooku said, bowing respectfully. "Tano fights with her heart, we may be able to use her love for this soldier to turn her to the ways of the Dark Side."

Unbeknownst to Dooku, Palpatine repressed a snarl. "Yes," he said maintaining a calm voice. "Now then, I sense that Skywalker and Kenobi are already on their way," he said as he used to force to fasten the manacles on his chair around his wrists. "Do put on a good show will you?" Dooku nodded as he walked away, and Palpatine's chair rotated to look out onto the battle above Coruscant.

'A misconception so common it makes me sick,' Palpatine thought. 'Love and attachments do not lead to the Dark Side, when was the last time a Sith was seen with a lover or anything that even remotely resembles a friend? The Jedi are fools for believing this to be true, and my apprentice ignorant. Still I may still be able to use that information to my advantage.' He smiled as yet another piece was added on to his master plan. 'What will Skywalker say if the Jedi Order was to come across this information, and expel his Padawan for being attached to another?' Palpatine's smile grew even wider 'That the Jedi are not worth saving, that's what.'

XXXXX

"You are certain that your droid's intelligence was accurate?" Ramore asked, as he Anakin and Obi-Wan all stood in an elevator heading upwards towards the bridge of the CIS flagship.

"R2's never let me down before," Anakin said confidently "The Chancellor is on the bridge."

"Yes," Obi-Wan said hesitantly "But he's not alone, you can feel it too can't you Anakin?"

"Yeah," Anakin said, frowning slightly "Dooku's up there too, but he isn't even trying to conceal his presence.

"We need a plan," Obi-Wan said "Any ideas?"

"One," Ramore said, as he opened a panel on his wrist and pressed a button. His form began to shimmer slightly, becoming less and less visible until he became completely invisible, with the exception of a slight shimmer that emanated from where he stood. "My active camouflage should give me a split second element of surprise, but the second I an attack impacts on me, it will drop. This is why I didn't use it on Halo or any of our previous battles, they were head on firefights and it wouldn't last more than a few seconds."

The elevator came a stop and all three of the occupants glanced at the door. "Be ready for anything," Obi-Wan said as they all stepped out, Ramore intentionally lagging behind. "Chancellor!" Obi-Wan said as he saw Palpatine sitting in a chair, manacles around his wrists. "Are you alright?" he asked, as he and Anakin jumped over the railing, Ramore keeping his distance as he followed.

"Dooku," Palpatine said simply. Anakin, Obi-Wan and Anakin turned around to see Dooku, light saber in hand, walking towards them.

"You two certainly are persistent," Dooku said, his voice the ever polite tone that it always was. "You could not defeat me on Halo, what makes you think you can defeat me now?"

"You cockiness will be your downfall Count," Obi-Wan said, as Anakin charged at him from the left while Obi-Wan charged at his right. Anakin swiped at Dooku, only to have the blow blocked by the Count, who quickly brought his light saber around to block the blow Obi-Wan had thrown at him. Both Jedi continued their assault on the Sith, but Dooku was able to keep up with apparent ease.

Ramore chose his moment to strike and charged at Dooku's back, energy swords activated. With unbelievable speed, Dooku blocked a blow from Anakin, threw a kick at Obi-Wan that knocked him off of his feet, and extended his hand, throwing a force push at the still invisible Ramore. Ramore was caught completely off guard and was slammed into the far wall, the breath forced out of his lungs as he fell to the floor.

Dooku held out his free hand, and the catwalks collapsed, completely burying Ramore, and covering half of of Obi-Wan, knocking him out. Turning to face Anakin, Dooku swung his light saber at him, Anakin just blocking it in time. Anakin couldn't help but feel anger towards Dooku at what he had just done. "I sense great potential in you Skywalker. You have anger, you have hate, but you don't use it."

While Anakin's and Dooku's light sabers clashed against each other, Anakin saw his mechanical hand out of the corner of his eye. Irrational rage surged through Anakin, and as their light sabers clashed, he slipped his light saber past Dooku's guard and cut both of his hands. Dooku let out of pain, as his hands fell to the ground, and Anakin caught his light saber and held both to Dooku's throat.

Palpatine chuckled as he watched the scene before him, taking note of the panicked look on Dooku's face and the look of rage on Anakin's. "Kill him," he said simply "Kill him now." It was hard to tell who looked more surprised, Anakin or Dooku.

Anakin looked at Palpatine, unsure if he should do what he had been told. "I shouldn't," he said, his tone suggesting that he was unsure if it was true.

"Do it," Palpatine said sternly.

Underneath the rubble, Ramore let out a moan as air returned to his lungs. Nearly completely buried, he realized that a small gab in the rubble allowed him to see what was happening perfectly. Anakin looked Dooku dead in the eye, paused for a second, then swung both light sabers, decapitating the Sith.

Ramore blinked as he watched Dooku's limp body fall to the floor, not sure what to think of it. Ramore let out a groan as he pushed the rubble that was on top of him off of him, and climbed out of the rubble. "Skywalker," he said as he attached his energy swords to his hips "Release the Chancellor so that we can leave." Anakin nodded as he extended his hands, breaking the manacles around Palpatine's hands.

"You did very well Anakin," Palpatine said, as Anakin helped him out of the chair.

"I shouldn't have done that," Anakin said as Ramore lifted the rubble off of Obi-Wan then throwing him over his shoulder. "He was an unarmed prisoner, it wasn't the Jedi way."

"It is only natural," Palpatine said dismissively "He cut off your arm, you wanted revenge. Much like what happened with your mother and and the sand people." Anakin noticed that Ramore had turned to look at Anakin, having heard the last sentence. "Staying here is not a good idea," Palpatine said, "I doubt that the fact that we are onboard will stop this ship from being shot down."

"He is correct," Ramore said "We must make haste," he said as they made their way to the elevator, the doors closing behind them. "Our fighters are too heavily damaged to be used," Ramore said as the elevator began to descend "We will have to locate the escape pods or form form of transportation craft." The elevator came to a stop, and the screen above the controls lit up, showing that they had stopped in the lever where the hanger was located. "Perhaps there is another hanger in this ship," Ramore said, as Obi-Wan began to groan.

"Coming around huh master?" Anakin said as Ramore put Obi-Wan down, and the Jedi got to his feet.

"Yes, yes," Obi-Wan said dismissively as they exited the elevator, Ramore reactivated his active camouflage and lagging behind again. "Do you really need to do that?" Obi-Wan asked, looking at the shimmer that marked Ramore position. "Dooku's dead, it's not like we'll be running into anyone else up here that will give us a..." but Obi-Wan's words were cut of, as what looked like a force field surrounded him, Anakin and Palpatine.

"You were saying?" Ramore asked, the faintest bit of smugness in his voice as we walked towards the force field.

"Ray shields," Anakin said, looking at the dome that engulfed them "Nothing we have can penetrate them."

"How did this happen?" Obi-Wan said, a clearly exasperated look on his face "We're smarter than this."

'That raises the question as to how smart you really are,' Ramore thought. "Never mind that," he said "How do you plan to get out of there."

"Patience," Anakin said. Obi-Wan, Ramore and Palpatine all turned to look at Anakin. "Yes patience," he said "R2 will be along any minute and he'll deactivate the shields." As if on cue, one of the doors in the hallway they were in opened, and the astrodroid sped into the wall, hitting the way by accident. "See, told you," Anakin said, smiling slightly.

"Why was he in such a hurry?" Obi-Wan asked. He received his answer as dozens of droids began to enter the room, their weapons raised. "Do you have a plan B Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked in a dry voice, as the droids surrounded the ray shields.

Still hidden, Ramore's eyes darted back and forth, counting the droids.

'There are too many for them to take by myself,' he thought. 'I will have to follow and not be found.'

XXXXX

Aayla let out a small grunt as she climbed over the wreckage of a skyscraper that had fallen over. After she had rested for a few minutes and gotten her strength back, she had disembarked the train and had began to make her way to the wrecked train car. She had gotten there ten minutes ago, and had found no trace of Ahsoka, although she had found the decapitated remains of Ventress. She had been making her way through Coruscant since then.

"Wait a minute," she said to herself as a through struck her. "Oh for the love of," she said as she brought her palm to her face "How could I forget that I have a communicator?" she said in a frustrated voice. "Ahsoka, are you there, it's Aayla I...DAMN!" she shouted. A CIS tank as just rolled onto the street she was standing on, aiming it's cannon at her. Aayla used the Force to increase her speed, as she dove and rolled, just barley avoiding the blast from the cannon.

Slipping into an alleyway, aayla produced her light saber and ignited it. "Alright," she said to herself. "If I'm fast enough, I should be able to get underneath the cannon and cut in half before it can..." before Aayla could continue, a massive explosion thundered from outside the alleyway.

"That's tank number 4!" roared a voice that she recognized as Johnson's. Aayla blinked as she stuck her head out if the alleyway. A tank the she recognized to be of UNSC design rolled past the burning remains of the tank that had just fired at her. "Hello!" Johnson said as the tank came to a stop next to Aayla. "Welcome to UNSC Scorpion Taxi services, we charge 15.95 for the first twenty minutes and 1.95 for every minute after that. Need a ride?"

Aayla couldn't help it as she smiled slightly at Johnson's banter. "I suppose I could use a ride," she said, as she noticed James on the gun, and the rest of the Coltons riding it, along with Ahsoka. As she climbed onto the Scorpion, sitting on the right side, next to Aaron and Ahsoka, she noticed that the Togruta had a makeshift cast, made out of what looked like pieces of scrap metal.

"Ahsoka, are you alright?" Aayla asked, looking with shock at Ahsoka's leg. "I saw Ventress' body on the way here, did you kill her?" Aayla looked as if she was about to continue asking questions, when Ahsoka's right sleeve slid back when she raised her arm to rub the back of her neck in apparent embarrassment at being asked if she had killed Ventress. Aayla saw a glint of light.

"What was that?" Aayla asked, pointing at Ahsoka's hand.

"Nothing," Ahsoka said, a little too quickly as she shook her sleeve so that it covered her hand, but Aayla darted forward and grabbed Ahsoka's wrist. Pulling her hand towards her, Aayla's eyes widened as she got a clear view of the engagement ring of Ahsoka's finger. "Master I can explain," Ahsoka said hastily, but before she could continue, Aayla reached towards Ahsoka...and hugged her.

"Oh, that's wonderful," she said as she released Ahsoka who, along with Aaron, looked thoroughly confused.

"Wait, you're not mad?" Ahsoka asked.

"You're engaged, what's to be made about," Aayla asked, grinning widely.

"But," Ahsoka spluttered "What about the Jedi Code and being tempted by the Dark Side?"

"Ahsoka," Aayla said warmly "I saw what you did above Halo. A small army of Flood were attacking you and Aaron, but despite your feelings for him you didn't give in to the Dark Side. I have no idea what you did up there, it was amazingly powerful, but it wasn't the Dark Side."

Ahsoka and Aaron both smiled. "Thanks Aayla," Ahsoka said "It's nice to find someone that...wait a minute," she said a frown crossing her face "How did you know that it was Aaron?"

'Damn it,' Aayla thought. "I might have overheard you to talking in bed back on Horizon alright?" she said defensively.

"Listening in on other people's pillow talk?" Aaron asked in an amused voice. "You've spent too much time around Vadmare."

"Oh shut it," Aayla said, smiling despite herself.

Author's Note: Well I'm going to leave it off there, the next chapter should tie up all of the lose ends. In other words WOW over 100k words, a personal record. Well until next time, keep killing those Elite/Sangheili, they're a lot tougher and smarter this time around.


	42. Improvised Landing

Chapter 42

Improvised "Landing"

Author's Notes: I said that I had a couple of ideas for stories that I would write after this one, but I can't decided which, then a thought struck me. I'm going to let YOU decide on this one, just tell me which story you would like me to write in a review or PM and it will count as a vote. This poll will stay open until this story is over, so probably a month at the very least.

The stories on the poll are

A novelization of the War on Salvation that takes place before the events of this story.

A novelization of Red vs Blue with every last drop of humor crushed out of it and replaced with action and drama. The Reds and Blues are Human Covenant War veterans stationed in a nowhere outpost, when they're forced to run for their lives from the Freelancers and the Meta.

A crossover between Gears of War and Star Wars. The Coalition of Organized Governments has expanded to the stars, colonizing hundreds of worlds, but they have discovered a species of humanoids that travel on giant organic starships known as the Locust. Ten years into the Locust War, they discover that the galaxy is much bigger than they thought, and both the COG and the Locust become key figures in the Clone Wars.

Star Wars. A species known as the Metrans, humanoids that resemble otters that live in the unknown territories, have made non peaceful contacts with the CIS when they invaded one of their 10 colony worlds. As the Metrans join the war, at their head is a force sensitive Metran called Fertis, who is neither Jedi or Sith, but somewhere in-between. (This one is my friend's idea)

Fallout Unknown Territories. A oneshot that I have posted, I suggest that you read it and decide if you want it continued.

So tell me which one of these story ideas you like best, and I'll begin working on it as soon as one of my current stories are over.

Jen easily ducked under the fire of a droid, and swung her katana at the machine, cutting it in half. Swinging around, she fired three quick bursts from her SMG, each one taking down a droid. Kevin and Alice were not too far away from her, Kevin firing his battle rifle with one hadn't and swinging his katana with the other, while Alice did the same with an assault rifle.

Since the arrival of the SPARTAN IVs the droids making the assault on the Temple had been experiencing a massacre, thousands of destroyed and disabled units pilled up in front of the Temple, but the handful of remaining droids kept on marching.

"The fools don't know when they've lost!" Marticus said, as he let out a roar and jumped twenty feet into the air, bringing his hammer down on a group of droids as he did so. The hammer smashed the ones unfortunate enough to be underneath it, while the splash damage fried the circuitry of the other droids.

Five of the SPARTANs fired rockets into the rapidly thinning swarm of droids, sending half of them flying through the air. Jen, Kevin and Alice charged at the remaining droids, blades swinging and guns firing. Within sixty seconds, all of the remaining droids had been eliminated.

"How many did we lose?" Kevin asked as he sheathed his katana.

"What do you think?" Alice asked "None of course."

"SPARTANs are deadly on their own, but next to unstoppable when they're in concentrated numbers," Jen said, her grin hidden by her helmet. All fifty-one of the SPARTANs had sheathed their katanas and were now talking among themselves. The handful of Jedi that had taken part in the defense of the Temple were looking at the SPARTANs with awestruck looks on their faces, while the Allied Species soldiers had something more akin to pride.

"Their attack has failed," Marticus said, walking to where Kevin, Alice and Jen stood "What is our next course of action?"

"I've been monitoring Battle-Net chatter since the start of the invasion," Matthew said, his voice being projected from Jen's helmet. "It would appear that the CIS are beginning to withdraw, having sustained heavy casualties from the Allied Species reinforcements, in addition to those already taken from the Republic and Allied Species forces already present.

"Is there anything we can do?" Jen asked.

Matthew paused a second before answering. "No," he said "From what I can see, there aren't any nearby CIS forces, and by the time you reach one of the more distant pockets of them, they will have already have been destroyed or evacuated. Besides Jen, you and the others just stopped an all out assault on the Jedi Order's main base of operations, I think that;s enough for one day."

Jen chucked. "Normally I would disagree with you Matthew," she said in an amused voice "But I'll admit that your right, just this once."

XXXXX

As the droids marched Anakin, Obi-Wan, R2 and Palpatine, who had their hands cuffed behind their back, to the bridge of the CIS flagship, judging by what a couple of the droids had called it, the _Invisible Hand_, Ramore silently followed from a distance. 'The situation is grim,' he thought to himself as they entered the bridge of the Invisible Hand, Ramore just barley slipping through the door before it closed.

As they walked onto the bridged, the came face to face with General Grievous, who seemed to have a dent that looked like a Sangheili foot that had been crudely patched, who had a Magna Guard on either side. "Ah, General Kenobi, the negotiator," he said tauntingly, as a droid handed him the Jedi's light sabers. "And Skywalker, every time I see you, I can't help but feel that 'The Hero Without Fear' should be a little...older," he said, letting out a hacking cough after he did so.

"Funny," Anakin said snidely "I can't help but think that the terror of the Jedi would be a little taller." Grievous let out a snarl as Ramore flashed a hidden smirk.

"Jedi scum," he said in an angry voice as he slipped their light sabers into his cloak. "Your deaths should serve as a good moral crusher for the Republic."

"Oh I don't think so," Anakin said "R2?" Without warning, hatches all over the small droid opened, and various tools whirred to life, some spinning, some crackling with electricity. Obi-Wan used this chance to pull his light saber towards himself with the Force, slicing his handcuffs off before doing the same with Anakin, who also pulling his light saber towards himself. Anakin then turned to face Palpatine and cut his handcuffs off, the Chancellor rubbing his raw wrists after he had done so.

"Kill them!" Grievous roared to the Magna Guards, who starting forward, staves blazing with electricity. Ramore made his move and dove in between the Magna Guards, activating both of his energy swords and thrusting them into the chests of the droids, following it up by slicing them in half.

"There's nowhere to run now Grievous," Anakin said, as the droid general picked up one of the fallen Magna Guard's staffs, while Ramore, Anakin and Obi-Wan all advanced on him.

"Oh, I disagree," Grievous said, as he turned around and threw the staff as the giant glass front of the bridge. The glass shattered and the bridge began to decompress almost immediately, Grievous making no effort to resist being sucked out of the ship, along with the other droids on the bridge, who were not intelligent enough to grab onto something. Everyone else however, grabbed onto the terminals that dotted the bridge and help on for dear life. Forcing himself to the top of the terminal he was clinging to, Obi-Wan slammed his fist down on a button, causing emergency doors to slam down on the front of the ship.

Although nobody on the bridge knew it, Grievous had used a grappling hook to attach himself to the hull, and was making his way along to hull of the ship.

"This ship is in very bad condition," Ramore said, looking at a console "Apparently after we boarded, it engaged a Republic cruiser and took several major hits, it's falling apart and is drifting into the atmosphere.

"This is weird," Obi-Wan said looking at a different terminal. "All of the escape pods just launched."

"Grievous," Anakin snarled.

"Now is not the time," Ramore said harshly "This ship is going down, is there anyway that you can steer it to soften the crash so that we may live."

"Well," Anakin said slowly as he sat at one of terminals "I'll see what I can do."

No sooner had he spoken, then a deafening noise tore through the ship. Obi-Wan glanced down at a terminal, then looked back up, grim faced. "Not to worry, we are still flying half a ship," he said grimly.

XXXXX

"Looks like all of the CIS forces are pulling out," Johnson said, as he rested his back against the Scorpion tank, which was now sitting on a runway along with two more burning CIS tanks. "I'm starting to wonder why this war has lasted so long if their droids are this stupid."

"As much as I hate to say it, there are a fair number of idiots on our side too," Ahsoka answered.

"Yes," Aayla said grimly "Half the Senate wants to go to war with the Allied Species. Even if we managed to beat them into submission, we will take massive amounts of causalities in the process.

"By the way Aayla," Ahsoka said "What happened to the Chancellor?"

The expression on Aayla's face as she answered the question was somewhere between frustration and sadness. "Dooku managed to escape with him, I tried to stop him, but I couldn't."

"I know what you mean," Ahsoka said "But then again that's nothing to be ashamed of, Dooku can hold his own against Master Yoda."

A small smile made it's way across Aayla's face. "True," she said.

On the other side of the tank, James and Emily stared at the horizon. "I have to admit this planet is beautiful," Emily said "But I probably get tired off it real quickly. Cities are way to crowded for me and they almost always have a healthy underbelly of criminals and thugs."

"I know, after all that is why you moved to Horizon," James said "It's not exactly city free anymore, but it's still mostly rural and sub-urban.

Emily smiled. "You always did like making others happy James," she said. "By the way, thanks for watching Aaron and Amber while I couldn't."

"No problem," James said, trying to keep the butterflies in his stomach down, "I'd do it again all over if I had to."

"Hey Aaron," Amber said as she sat on the far end of the tank, looking at her brother "Where do the reckon Ramore is?"

"Probably killing his fiftieth Vulture Droid," Aaron said grinning. "I'll check," he said as he put his hand to his com unit. "Hey Ramore, where are you."

"Let's just say I am in a rather stressful situation," Ramore said quickly.

"How stressful?" Aaron asked.

Ramore paused for a few seconds before answering. "Would you by any chance happen to be near a massive runway?"

"Yeah, we're on one," Aaron said.

"Look up," Ramore said simply. Aaron glanced up at the sky, wondering what Ramore wanted him to look at. A look of awe consumed Aaron's face, as he saw of the remains of a CIS cruiser plummeting towards the far end of the runway that they were on.

Aaron wasn't the only one to notice, as everyone else had now spotted and were looking at the cruiser, as it smashed into the runway and began to skid along it. "Oh my sweet baby Jesus," Johnson said, as the cruiser continued to skid forward, traveling quite a bit before it finally came to a stop.

"Does that answer your question Aaron?" Ramore asked over the Battle-Net. "It's getting even worse, Skywalker just said that this was one of his better landings."

XXXXX

Anakin relaxed into the seat of the Pelican that he was flying in. Allied Species dropships had picked up everyone on the runway, and they were now being transferred to the Senate building so that the negotiations could continue, the CIS having completely withdrawn. The Pelican came to a stop in front of the Senate building, and Anakin climbed off with Obi-Wan, the others climbing off of a nearby Phantom.

A small crowd had gathered in front of the dropships, comprised mostly of Senators, although Mace Windu was also present. "Chancellor," he said, bowing respectfully "I am glad to see that you are alright."

"Thanks to your two Jedi," Palpatine said "Ramore 'Altre also provided a hand in my rescue. There is also the wonderful news that Dooku is dead, although Grievous is still alive. As long as he leads the CIS army, they will remain strong and united."

"Then we will make if our top priority to hunting down," Windu said, as Palpatine nodded his head, walking away. Windu was about to walk away, when he noticed a datapad on the floor. Curiosity getting the better of him, Windu picked up the datapad, there weren't any forms of identification on it. Seeing that it contained a recording, Windu playing it, thinking that it would help him determine the owner. As the recording played, Windu's eyes widened with shock, which was quickly replaced by coldness.

Glancing at the Allied Species dropships, Windu saw Aaron helping Ahsoka into a Phantom that would take them to the Glorious Victory, where Ahsoka could have her leg healed. "This behavior is unacceptable from a Jedi," he said coldly. "I am sorry Tano, but this must be done," he said as he turned and walked away, he would have to assemble the Council.

As the rest of the crowd dispersed, Anakin noticed a woman half hidden by a pillar. Recognizing the woman as Padmé , he smiled and pulled his wife into a hug. "I missed you," she whispered softly, as she shook slightly in Anakin's arms.

"You're trembling," he said in a concerned voice "What's wrong?"

Padmé pulled away from Anakin's arms, smiling widely "Ani, nothing's wrong," she said "I'm pregnant." Anakin just smiled and hugged his wife.

Author's Note: Well that battle's finally over, but Aaron and Ahsoka have a future snag in their relationship, a rather big one too. Let's see if they can overcome it. Remember to review and tell me what you thought of the chapter and what story you want me to write after this one, remember the poll stays open until this story ends. Also I may add some on as time goes by.


	43. Offer

Chapter 43

Offer

Author's note: So far the tally is War on Salvation: 4 Red vs Blue: 0 Star Wars and Gears of War: 6 Fallout: 0 Metrans: 1. Remember this poll is open until the story ends, but please, no double voting.

"Ahhhh," Ahsoka said, as Huragok healing chemicals were pumped through her leg, rapidly accelerating the knitting of her broken bones. "Feels like Bacta," she said, as she lay on a bed in the medical bay of the _Glorious Victory_. Aaron, Amber, James and Emily were all sitting in various chairs around her bed.

"So you and Ahsoka are engaged," Amber said, looking at her brother "It's about time."

"Yeah well," he said "Sometimes things just fall right into your path in life, rather good things," he said, squeezing Ahsoka's fist gently. She giggled.

"Pardon me," a voice said, and everyone looked up to see a woman wearing a naval uniform, with a Marine on either side of her. judging by the way her hair was slowly going from blonde to gray, she was in her mid fifties. "I''m Admiral Jane Patterson, I'm looking for the Coltons and James Dante."

"That's us," Emily said, a wary look on her face "How can we help you?"

"I'm afraid I can't discuss it here," Patterson said "It's a highly classified subject for selected ears only. If you could follow me, I have a Pelican ready to take you to my ship, the _Firm Resolve_." James and the Coltons glanced at each other before getting to their feet.

"We'll be back before you know it," Aaron said, looking at Ahsoka "By the way that chemical's job should be done in a few minutes." Ahsoka nodded, watching as the ODSTs got up and followed Patterson out of the room.

'What could she possibly want with them?' Ahsoka wondered worriedly.

XXXXX

Windu frowned darkly as he sat in his seat in the Council Chambers. The rest of the Jedi Council was present, although some were via hologram, but they had all made contact, and they had all seen what was on the data pad Windu had found. They had all gathered to debate one topic, should Ahsoka Tano be expelled from the Jedi Order for breaking the rule of no attachments.

"Master Windu," Obi-Wan said from his seat "Are you really suggesting we expel one of our most promising Padawans because of what was on a datapad that you found on the ground?" Obi-Wan asked, disbelief in his voice.

"I agree with Master Kenobi," Kit said "I saw Ahsoka fighting on the _Twilight_, if she was in a relationship with Aaron Colton, she certainly didn't show it."

"We still need to consider this," Shaak Ti "Even if she resisted the temptation of the Dark Side that one time, there is no certainty that she will be able to resist it further down the road."

"The idea is laughable," Plo Koon "Expelling Ahsoka Tano, the sheer amount of potential the girl emits is unbelievable, and you want to just cast her out of the order? She has worker herself half to death throughout the war, going out of her way just to bring one more clone back."

"Be that as it may," Windu said "The Dark Side makes you forget, it makes you forget why you ever used it in the first place, and everything you ever fought before you used it. It matters little what Tano's potential is or what good deeds she has preformed, if she turns to the dark, she will be reborn as a completely different person."

"Unnerving the situation is," Yoda said, speaking up "But respectfully disagree with expulsion, I do. No signs of a Sith see on Tano I do." He smiled slightly. "I happy young woman I see."

"With all due respect Master Yoda," Windu said "Tano's happiness is the least of our concerns."

"It is clear that these debates are going nowhere," Ki-Adi-Mundi said. "If there are no objections, I suggest that we vote on the matter now." There was absolute silence, if a majority of a vote could be obtained, the Jedi Council had the authority to expel anyone from the order, even the Grand Master. Afterwards, the person who was being voted on was required to know the results, regardless of what they were.

"Very well," Yoda said "Are in favor of expulsion raise your hands those are."

XXXXX

"What's with all of the secrecy?" Amber asked, as the Pelican docked with the _Firm Resolve, _a Marathon class cruiser, much like the _Twilight_.

"Sorry about that," Patterson said "But if more people find out about this, then there's more of a chance the information with make it's way to the CIS." The Pelican door opened and everyone stepped out, the two Marines remaining in the hanger as Patterson walked deeper into the ship, James and the Coltons right behind her.

"I've read all of your combat reports," the Admiral said "And I'll be blunt, I'm impressed. Aaron you have a sniping accuracy of 96.64%, you assassinated Wat Tambor from two miles away, and you have survived several encounters with Asajj Ventress, killing her in the last one. Amber, you drill instructor had nothing but praise for you, you picked up demolitions faster than anyone else, you can disarm a bomb in half of the time it takes a professional, and from what I've read you're a bit of an expert with a knife and a shotgun, making you deadly in CQC."

"Too bad a knife isn't really any good against droids," Amber said.

Paterson gave a dry chuckled. "Quite," she said before continuing. "James, you're a veteran ODST by a couple of decades, the sole survivor of New Jerusalem, played a vital role in the Battle of New Mombassa, served bravely on the War on Salvation, and you volunteered for a front line position last month while you were stationed on Horizon. And Emily, dear Lord. SPARTAN III, dozens of successful missions, one of the quarter of Gamma Company to survive, rejoined the UNSC the second you were old enough and served gallantly in the War on Salvation. Spent fourteen years as a POW, and the second you get free, you can your children help destroy Halo."

"We know what we did in our military careers," Emily said briskly "What does that have to do with this."

"Im not sure that you understand," Patterson said "Your report is nothing too surprising because you're a SPARTAN, but your children and James, they are way above normal ODST level, even calling them advanced just doesn't quite do them justice. Before I go on I need to tell you something. This ship used to be a research ship but it got deployed to the front lines when the war broke out. It's a genius idea really, why make a research ship unarmed when you can make it a flagship instead. Needless to say, because of the cost of putting research equipment in a Marathon class cruiser, it's pretty high level research. Some of the scientists are still on board, which is why I want you to carefully consider what I'm about to ask you."

As she finished talking, the five of them walked through a door, into a medium sized room. The inside was fairly sparse, with the exception of a handful of people in lab coats standing in front of a group of terminals. The terminals were position in front of five metal beds with straps on them. Strangely enough they didn't look like hospital beds, and strange machines were on either side of the beds, long mechanical arms with needles at the end.

"Is this what I think it is?" Emily asked, disbelief in her voice.

"Yes," Paterson said "The equipment for giving genetic augmentations."

"These things don't look anything like Project Olympus equipment," Aaron said, staring at one of the beds.

"That's because they're not," Paterson said "These machines don't give Project Olympus augmentations. They give SPARTAN III grade augmentations.

"THEY WHAT!" James shouted, looking at Paterson.

Paterson nodded. "I trust that you've seen the SPARTAN IVs in action, they're truly something to be feared. Merely hours ago they fought off thousands of hostile droids without loosing a single man. But SPARTAN IVs take years to train, ten years, though to be fair, half of that is teaching them how to use the katana and another two is to weeding out the weak willed. The UNSC and ONI want more SPARTANs so they can be in more places, but they just take too long to train, even if we were to start training more tomorrow, the war would be over long before they will be ready."

"Where is this going?" Amber asked.

"No sense in beating around the bush anymore," Paterson said, letting out a small sigh. "Not too long ago, ONI came up with an idea. There are some soldiers out there that are truly amazing, they probably would have made it in the SPARTAN program if they had signed up. ONI formed a hypothesis, if a soldier has amazing talent, give that soldier SPARTAN augmentations and armor and he will be a SPARTAN. We've yet to test this hypothesis, but if are willing to, we can."

"Are you asking me what I think you're asking me?" James asked.

"Yes," Paterson answered. "Aaron Colton, Amber Colton, James Dante, do you want to become the first SPARTAN Vs?

"SPARTAN V?" Emily asked incredulously "How long as there been a SPARTAN V project?"

"Technically there still isn't one," Paterson answered "If you're children and James accept this offer, they will be monitored to see how effective they are. If they meet SPARTAN standards, the project will be a go, but if they don't, it will be scrapped. Either way it won't put any of them at a disadvantage."

Emily bit her lip "I don't know," she said nervously "Aaron and Amber SPARTANs? They're old enough to make their old decisions so I can't stop them, even though part of me would like to. But the augmentations," she said, looked at her children with a worried look on her face "They redefine pain."

"I'm not going to lie to them," Paterson said "When they receive the augmentations they will most likely be more painful that anything they've ever felt before. But I'm not forcing them into this, I'm giving them a choice. If they don't want to, they can just walk out right now with no strings attached, with the exception of they are are forbidden from mentioning this to anyone. But there aren't that many ODSTs out there that can even compare to them, I honestly believe that they have what it takes to be SPARTANs. That's why I called you up here the second I got a chance."

"Alright, say they do accept," Emily said "Who will lead them?"

Paterson blinked "You of course." Emily's eyes widened. "What, you think I called you up here just you that I could have a witness?" Paterson asked, smiling slightly. "You're a SPARTAN III and are the perfect choice for leading the others, should they choose to become SPARTAN Vs. If they want, we can do it right now, or never."

Emily let out a deep sigh as she looked at the others. "Guys, it's your call. What do you want to do?"

Aaron, Amber and James all stared at the bed, thoughts racing, before they looked at each other. James was the first to speak. "All right," he said "I'll do it. I've seen more than my fair share of evil in the universe, I'm not going to pass up the chance to get rid of some of it."

"I was just thinking the same thing," Aaron asked. 'Along with a couple of other things,' he thought, an image of Ahsoka flashing through his head.

"There's no way I'm just going to let my brother and stepfather run off on their own when I can back them up," Amber said in a determined voice. "Sign me up."

Emily felt pride coursing through her veins as she smiled. "All right," Paterson said, "Remove your armor and lie down on the tables." Aaron, Amber James walked towards the tables, and then began removing their armor until the three of them wore nothing but tank tops and briefs. As they laid down on the tables, the scientists hurried forward, strapping them into place.

"This may be slightly disturbing," one of the scientists said as he strapped Aaron down "But it's for your own safety. If you spasm during the augmentations, the needles might break of, and you might suffer massive neural damaged since some of them are injected into the skull.

'I forgot about that,' Aaron thought, but made no move to stop the scientist, as his legs, arms, torso and head were all restrained, the restraint on James and Amber already in place.

"All right," one of the scientists said, as they walked back to their terminals, and began to type on them. The mechanical arms of the machines began to move, positioning the needless to directly next to the skull, forearm and thighs of the candidates. "If you're having any second thoughts, now's the time," the scientist said, looking over the terminal. Nothing was said as Paterson and Emily stood behind the scientists. "All right, here we go," he said as he pushed a button on the keyboard. Tiny drills on the needles around the skulls began to spin as they moved in, along with the other needles. They pierced the skin and the skull as they began to inject the gene augmenting drugs.

The affect was instantaneous, Aaron, Amber and James all began to spasm violently, letting out shrieks of pure agony. Emily bit her lip as her glanced at the terminal one of the scientist's was looking over. "Looking good," he muttered "The chemicals are beginning to rewrite the genes."

The tree being augmented continue to roar in unbelievable pain, to the point where Emily wanted to clamp her hands over her ears and cry, but she restrained herself. Then, as soon as it had began, it stopped. James and the twins went limp where they lay, weather exhausted or out cold, Emily couldn't tell.

"Well?" Paterson asked, looking at one of the scientists.

"They're unconscious, but their vital signs are stable," he said looking at the terminal in front of him. "Genes are being rewritten properly. Bones are already beginning to harden and muscle density is already increasing. Neural activity is rising too, it's at the level you would expect in a SPARTAN." He looked at Paterson. "They just need some rest and some time to get used to their augmentations, it'll be perfectly normal if they trip over their feet, but it should be fine in 24 hours."

"Good," Paterson said smiling as she stepped away from the terminal, and Emily let out sigh of relief. "Emily come with me, there's something I want to show you." Before Emily could ask what she wanted, the Admiral had already begun to walk away, causing Emily to run to catch up. They walked through a door that led to what look like a small cargo room. "Just wanted to show you what you and your team will be wearing," Paterson said, as the lights activated.

Lined up against the wall in steel frames, were half a dozen pitch black suits of armor that were much thicker and more complex than ODST armor. "MJOLNIR?" Emily said, looking at Paterson with surprise.

"A customized variant, but yes," Paterson said "They have the same speed and strength enhancements as Mark V, but they shields are up to date and very strong. In addition to that, it's much lighter, all together only 150 pounds, and it can be removed and put on like ODST armor. The ones of SPARTAN IIs used required the sue of heavy lifting equipment, one of the many reasons they never took it off. This will be the armor of the newest SPARTAN team, Gray Team. You will be the commander of Gray Team Emily, sorry I mean, you will be the commander, Gray-1. Emily couldn't help but smile.

Author's Note: I couldn't help but feel that my ODST characters were being completely overshadowed by the Jedi, Sith and other things in this story, so I came up with this awhile back. I have a very bad feeling that I am going to be flamed because of this, but know this, no mater what you say, I am not changing this. Honestly, I think that this is one of the best ideas that I have come up with, hopefully you will agree.

P.S. I know that there is an actual Gray Team in the Halo expanded universe, you don't need to tell me that.

P.S.S. remember to vote on which story that you want next.


	44. Gray 5 and Gray 6

Chapter 44

Gray-5 and Gray-6

Author's note. I hate to say this, but due to me not being sure if people are stuffing the ballot box with unmarked reviews, I am reseting the poll to zero and opening a fresh one of my account. Please vote there. Also I am adding a story to the poll, a sequel to this story. So head over there and vote.

UPDATE: This chapter has been proofread.

Ahsoka felt rather nervous as the Phantom that she was on descended towards the Jedi Temple. She wasn't sure what exactly what was causing her to feel uneasy, thought she had reached the conclusion that it was either the fact that she hadn't heard from the Coltons, when she thought of the Colton family she considered James to be a part of it, or the way that the Jedi Council had asked to see her in a rather cryptic manner.

"Probably just want to talk about me about how Ventress died, since Aaron isn't available. Then again it could be something else," she muttered as the Phantom landed outside of the temple.

"Do you wish me to wait for you or do you believe that the Council will want to talk to you for a fair portion of time?" Ramore asked, looking at her from the cockpit. Ahsoka couldn't help but smile, after all Ramore had volunteered to fly her down her. She had a faint feeling that he knew about Aaron and her.

"I have a feeling this won't take long, I'll be back in a few minutes," Ahsoka said as she jumped out of the Phantom and walked towards the Temple.

After a few minutes of walking, she came to the doors of the Council Chambers. As she opened the doors and walked in, she saw that the entire Council has present, although some were attending via hologram. 'Ok this has got to be a big deal if the whole Council is present,' she thought, as she clasped her hands behind her back and quickly slipped off her ring, slipping it discreetly into her sleeve.

"Ahsoka Tano," Mace Windu said calmly "I'm glad that you could join us."

"It's my pleasure Master," Ahsoka said politely "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Ahsoka we have received some...interesting information," Shaak Ti said, as if she was uncertain on how to speak.

"Is it true that you are engaged to Aaron Colton?" Windu asked, cutting over Shaak Ti.

Ahsoka had felt like an electric current had just coursed through her body. 'How did they find out!' Ahsoka mentally screamed, panic slowly coursing through her body 'It hasn't even been a whole day!'

"Ahsoka," Windu said, having seen the panicking expression on Ahsoka's face "I have found undeniable proof that you are indeed engaged to Aaron Colton. I was merely hoping that you could explain why you have broken the Jedi Code, become engaged with another, and apparently are flaunting yourself around the Allied Species.

"I have not been flaunting myself!" Ahsoka shouted, a spike of anger dispelling the panic. "Did I break the code, yes I did, did I get engaged yes I did, have I been prostituting myself NO I HAVE BEEN NOT!"

Several of the Councilors looked rather taken aback by Ahsoka's outburst, and Kit even glared at Windu. "Windu," he said icily "Tano is about to go through a good deal of hardships, can you please not make this anymore difficult by calling her a whore?"

"I apologize," Windu said, in a stony voice that suggested otherwise. "Getting back on topic Tano," he said, turning away from Kit to face Ahsoka "We have debated on the topic and we have reached a conclusion." Dread filled Ahsoka, she had a very bad feeling about what he was about to say, but she prayed to whatever god the Coltons believed in that she was wrong, but her nerves were not calmed when she remembered Kit saying that she would face great hardships. "We took a vote to decide your fate, and the results were eight to four."

"What?" Ahsoka said, her mind overwhelmed at what Windu had just said.

"I'm sorry Soka," Plo Koon said sadly, looking at Ahsoka and using his nickname for her "The majority of the Council votes for you to be...expelled from the Jedi Order."

Plo Koon's words hit her like a tidal wave. 'Expelled?' she thought. 'I've been a part of the Jedi Order since I was three, all my life I wanted to be a Jedi Knight. Now it's all gone.' Ahsoka could feel tears starting to build up in her eyes. 'No,' she thought, her hands tightening into fists 'I'm not going to cry, not in front of them.'

"Is there anything else that I should know?" Ahsoka asked cooly, looking at Dooku.

"Yes," he said "All of the perks that you enjoyed as a Padawan of the Jedi Order are know revoked. The rent of the apartment that you live in will no longer be payed by us and you will be vacated. Also you will be required to turn in your light saber..."

"No," Ahsoka said simply.

"I beg your pardon?" Windu asked. raising an eyebrow.

"I said no," Ahsoka said firmly "I made this light saber ten years ago," she said, taking the weapon off of her belt and holding it in front of her. "It's one of the few personal possessions I actually have, it symbolized everything that I fight for, I'm not just going to hand it over to you."

"Windu, there is no need to deprive her of her light saber," Obi-Wan said sternly. "That's like declawing an animal before you release it."

"Very well," Windu said, his voice growing colder by the second.

"If there's nothing else," Ahsoka said, turning on her heel as she began to walk to the door "I'l be going."

"Tano!" Windu said harshly "We are not finished here, you are not permitted to leave yet."

"I don't answer to you anymore Windu," Ahsoka said angrily "One more thing, I know that you still believe that the Allied Species are a collective of monsters for their use of energy projectors. But at least they never abandon their own," she said as she exited the Council Chambers, not looking back as she walked away. She was so determined on walking straight forward, that she walked straight into Aayla.

"Oh, sorry Ahsoka, I didn't see you there," the Jedi Master said as she straightened herself out. "I was just going to give my report to the Council on what happened when I was fighting Dooku. Was that just what you were doing?"

"Not exactly," Ahsoka said slowly, wondering how exactly to tell Aayla. "I'm not a member of the Jedi Order anymore, I've been expelled."

"YOU'VE BEEN WHAT?" Aayla shouted, nearly deafening Ahsoka. "On what grounds? Jedi are only expelled for serious offenses."

"Windu found out about me and Aaron," Ahsoka said sadly "I was just going to see if I could live with the Coltons, since I lost my apartment."

"Ahsoka stay here," Aayla said as she marched towards the Council Chamber "I need to have a little chat with Windu."

XXXXX

"This was a mistake," Obi-Wan said "We should not have expelled Ahsoka. She had an amazing amount of potential that we just threw away."

"The Allied Species, found of Tano, they are," Yoda said "Deteriorate, our relationship with them will."

"The Allied Species are an organization of overzealous species whose home territory is a galaxy away from our own," Windu said. "They will most likely withdraw from this galaxy after this war is over, their opinion of us matters little."

"Windu!" a voice barked sharply, as the doors to the chamber burst open and Aayla entered. "I just heard that you had Ahsoka expelled from the Jedi, is this true?"

"Yes," Windu said calmly. "She was engaged to an Allied Species trooper, and I forwarded the motion for her to be expelled."

"Can I ask you a question Windu?" Aayla asked. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?" she roared. Several of the Councilors looked surprised at the language that Aayla had used, one or two even jumped. "I know that you have a heart of stone Windu, but this is beyond anything I ever expected of you! You expelled Ahsoka Tano? What the Hell were you thinking? She's a hero Windu, A FUCKING HERO! You remember what Councilor 'Vadam said about the Flood, the parasitic organism that nearly spread to the corners of the galaxy? She stopped it! We were about to be overwhelmed by them when she preformed a Force Repulse. Ahsoka performed a perfect Force Repulse AS A SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD PADAWAN!"

"As impressive is that is, Ahsoka's skill level is irrelevant in that matter," Windu said, his stony voice not faltering. "She was expelled for forming an attachment with another person, which you know are forbidden as they can lead to the Dark Side."

"You're using that excuse?" Aayla shouted "Aaron was one of the few remaining soldiers left alive when the Flood were about to overwhelm us! But did she give in to the Dark Side? NO! That's exactly why I decided not to tell any of you about them!"

"You knew?" Shaak Ti exclaimed, surprise heavy in her voice.

"Yes," Aayla said darkly "And I'm not sorry that I kept it a secret, considered that fact you threw Ahsoka away like a piece of trash. Especially since that I don't even think that she was even tempted by the Dark Side, and I can't think of a more emotionally stressful situation that being the last line of defense preventing the Flood from being released."

"Regardless of Tano's ability to cope in that situation, the fact remains that she may not be as durable in another situation," Windu said.

"You refuse to listen don't you!" Aayla screamed "You refuse to acknowledge that you are wrong, that the Jedi Code is wrong!" Is this what the Jedi Order has come to stand for? A sense of superiority and bigotry? Believing that the Jedi Code is infallible to everything and everyone?"

In the depths of Aayla's mind, she remembered something that Vadmare had told her the first time he had come to Coruscant. "_The Jedi order, from my point of view, is too vulnerable to corruption. It must rely on the strength of every individual in order to remain just, and that is never insured. Overall, I may respect some Jedi, and I would love nothing more to kill others. You and Tano, luckily, fall into the former category. I disagree with your tactics, but a respect your resilience to the corruption of war, and your fighting skills_."

'Force,' she thought silently 'He's right.'

"Aayla, this conversation is meaningless," Windu said coldly "The Council has voted on this matter and it can not and will not be reversed."

As Aayla felt frustration pumping through her veins, she also remembered what Vadmare had said about Ahsoka. "_So much skill and courage for one so young. She holds the position of commander in her own forces, yet she risked her life in order to save the life of a single ODST that was only a Corporal. Yes I see great potential in her_."

'If the Jedi Order will just toss someone like her aside,' Aayla thought as she turned. 'Then I want nothing to do with it.' "Very well," Aayla said, not looking at the Council. "I quit."

"What?" Windu said plannly.

"You heard me," Aayla said calmly "I don't want to have anything to do with this order anymore."

"And what exactly do you plan to do now Secura?" he asked in a venomous voice.

"None of your damn business!" Aayla snarled. "You know I used to wonder why Vadmare 'Katar hates the Jedi Order so much. Now I know, you really are just a bunch of stuck up snobs. I want nothing to do with people like you, goodbye." Without another word Aayla exited the Council Chamber, to see a dumbstruck Ahsoka staring at her with her mouth open. "What?" Aayla asked, looking at the ex-Jedi.

"I heard you from out here," Ahsoka said "I've never heard anyone read the Council the riot act before." She regained her composure as she looked at Aayla "Did you really quit the order?"

Aayla nodded. "You didn't deserve what happened to you, I just can't be part of the Order anymore."

Ahsoka smiled as she hugged Aayla, who returned the favor. "You think that the Allied Species will take us in?" she asked as she broke away from Aayla.

"I would think so," Aayla said, as they walked out of the Temple, where Ramore was waiting for them in the Phantom.

"Secura," he said, bowing his head respectfully "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I'll explain it later," Aayla said "Right now I would like to talk to either Hanson or Vadmare."

"Interesting you mention that," Ramore said "Aaron just contacted me, requesting that I take Ahsoka to the _Firm Resolve_, the flagship of Admiral Jane Paterson. Is it possible that you could speak with her?"

"Yes," Aayla said "That will work. Why does Aaron want Ahsoka on the _Firm Resolve_?"

"He said he had something to tell her and he wanted to do it in person," Ramore said "He made me swear not to tell you what it is, although I think you will be interested to find out.

XXXXX

"Damn it," Amber swore, as she picked herself off of the ground for the fifth time. "I'm still tripping over my own feet."

Aaron and Amber were walking in the left side of Admiral Paterson, while Emily and James walked on the other side. Aaron, Amber and James had woken up around six hours ago, and since then, had preformed various exercises to get used to their augmentations. Patterson was surprised at how fast they were adapting, although they still tripped every once in awhile. Patterson was convinced that by tomorrow, not only would that have worked the quirks out, they would have learned to use their new bodies to their full potential.

Emily and the others were also wearing their new armor, their helmets attached to the magnetic clamps on their backs. In addition they had been given their designations on Gray Team, Emily was Gray-1, James Gray-2, Amber Gray-3 and Aaron was Gray-4.

"Why did Aayla Secura say that she wanted to talk to me?" Patterson asked as they walked to the hanger bay. Ramore had contacted them ten minutes ago, telling them that he was bringing Aayla and Ahsoka on board the _Firm Resolve_. She knew that Aaron had requested him to bring Ahsoka on board to tell her about the formation of Gray Team, but she had no idea why Aayla was coming with her.

As the entered the hanger bay, the saw the Phantom that Ramore was piloting dock. The side doors opened, and Aayla, Ahsoka and Ramore all exited the dropship. "Aaron," Ahsoka said "Tt's nice to...what are you wearing?"

"That's what I wanted to tell you about," Aaron said "Admiral Patterson wanted give us an offer. To give us the augmentations and armor to turn us into SPARTAN Vs. We took her offer."

Patterson nodded. "The four of them now make up the newest special forces unit in the Allied Species and the UNSC, Gray Team."

"Amazing," Ahsoka said, awe in her voice. "But there's something I need to tell you." She took a deep breath before she spoke. "I'm not a Jedi anymore."

"WHAT?" roared every last member of Gray Team, even Ramore and Paterson also looked shocked.

Aayla nodded. "I don't know how, but Mace Windu found out about Ahsoka being engaged to Aaron, and the Council expelled her for it. When I heard about it, I was so disgusted I left the order myself." She turned to face Patterson. "I actually was hoping that you could give us some help here, considering we don't have anywhere to live now, or any occupations."

Admiral Paterson had a thoughtful look on her face as she rubbered her chin. "I have an idea," Patterson said "From what I've heard, Jedi are par on par with SPARTANs. How would the two of you like to become members of Gray Team?"

"Really?" Ahsoka asked, a shocked look on her face, Aayla also looked surprised.

Paterson nodded. "So, what do you say?"

Ahsoka and Aayla glanced at each other, before looking at Paterson and saying "Of course," almost simultaneously.

"Alright," Paterson said, smiling "Aayla, you'll be Gray-5, and Ahsoka you'll be Gray-6. Councilor 'Vadam is onboard the _Twilight _and he has the influence to male both of you citizens of the Allied Species. I'll talk to him about that later."

"Wow," Ahsoka said softly. "Thanks."

"No problem," Patterson said warmly "I'll also get the two of you some ODST armor. You won't be able to wear the helmet with those head-tails of yours, but you should still be able to wear the body armor. Now, what did you say about Ahsoka being engaged to Aaron?"

"Oh God," Emily muttered "Now everyone's going to know."

Author's Note: Now Gray Team is complete, with a grand total of six members, a SPARTAN III, three SPARTAN Vs, and two ex-Jedi, quite the threat. As you might have noticed, I REALLY don't like Windu. Well, that's all for now, remember to go to my profile and vote on which story that you want me to do after this one. I threw out the old votes, do if you don't vote on the new poll, it'll be like you never votes at all, so get to it if you want your vote to count.


	45. Spark of Anger

Chapter 45

Spark of Anger

Author's Note: Sorry that's been awhile, I've been busy doing very important things Halo Reach, I'm still not a Captain yet, it takes forever to level up in this game, and from what I've heard, Bungie plans to add more more ranks and armor, Jesus they're making sure we don't forget them anytime soon.

UPDATE: This chapter has been proofread.

"This feels really weird," Ahsoka said, as she snapped a neck guard shut around her throat. She had just finished dressing herself in her new ODST armor, which fit her rather snugly, although her Lekku were still uncovered. In addition, she had discarded all of her Jedi clothing, and was wearing standard issue UNSC clothes underneath the armor, a tank top and shorts. It wasn't uncomfortable, she just wasn't used to it yet.

"Personally, I think you look rather cute," Aaron said, as he looked at Ahsoka from where he sat on a bed, causing Ahsoka to blush. They were both in the quarters that had been assigned to Ahsoka on the _Glorious Victory. _Aaron was stilling wearing his customized MJOLNIR as he stood up to look at Ahsoka. "You're really part of the Allied Species now aren't you...Second Class Petty Officer Tano?"

Ahsoka smiled, after Thel had been contacted about the situation that had arisen, it had taken him five minutes to send them the data that Ahsoka and Aayla would need to legally make them citizens of the Allied Species, along with being members of the military and Gray Team. In addition to that, both of them had been given the rank of Petty Officer Second Class, but then again, every member of Gray Team had been given that rank, except for Emily who had been made a Petty Officer First Class.

It had been twenty four hours since Ahsoka had been expelled from the Jedi Order and Aayla had had left, to Ahsoka it was all a blur. Things had happened so fast, with her becoming a member of the Allied Species and the UNSC, becoming part of Gray Team, and the seemingly endless explanations that came with her new position, Ahsoka had collapsed in her bed at the end of the day, waking during the afternoon next day.

"So, out of curiosity," Ahsoka asked, as she attached her light saber to the magnetic clamp she had on her hip "What are the plans for Gray Team?"

"As of right now, there aren't any," Aaron said, in a slightly annoyed voice. "Admiral Patterson is still fishing around for a trial by fire mission for us. She needs something that's easy enough for us to pull off, but tough enough that she can prove the SPARTAN Vs are worth the money. In reality, we're the experiment group." He would never admit it, but Aaron was slightly frustrated to have gone through the agonizing augmentations, only to sit on his ass, especially now that he was no longer tripping over his feet and was beginning to use the augmentations to their full potential.

"By the way, how did Anakin take you getting expelled from the order?" Aaron asked, almost as if it was an afterthought.

A look of pure horror spread over Ahsoka face as she realized what exactly Aaron had just asked her. "Oh, no," she muttered quietly as she sat down on her bed. "So much has been happening, what with getting expelled and Gray Team...I...I...I forgot to tell him."

"Wouldn't the Council have told him?" Aaron asked, as he sat down next to Ahsoka and slid a comforting arm around her waist.

"No," Ahsoka said in a clearly distressed voice. "When a Padawan is expelled, the Council waits for a week, and if the Padawan hasn't done it by then, they inform the Padawan's Master themselves. The idea is they give the Padawan a chance to tell their Master themselves, to soften the blow."

"You're nervous about doing it aren't you?" Aaron asked "But you want to be the one to tell him, otherwise it might be someone like Windu?" Ahsoka nodded. "Will it help if I come along?

"More than you can possibly imagine," Ahsoka said in a relieved voice, as she leaned in and kissed Aaron.

"You want to get it over with now?" Aaron asked. Ahsoka nodded as they both stood up and began to walk towards the door. "We might even get a little bit of a show while we're down there," Aaron added

"What do you mean?" Ahsoka asked, a confused look on her face.

"I heard that Councilor 'Vadam was going to speak with the Jedi Council to make sure that they know exactly where you and Aayla are working now," Aaron grinning slightly. "I doubt they'll take the news of you joining up with us very well." Ahsoka began to smile slightly as they left the room.

XXXXX

"Speak with us, you wish to, Councilor 'Vadam?" Yoda asked, as he sat in his chair in the Council Chamber.

"Yes," Thel said, as he bowed his head in respect, speaking in a calm polite voice. "I am pleased that you were able to make time to meet with me, I know that you all have very important positions."

"As do you Councilor," Obi-Wan said, in a warm voice "How can we help you?"

"Twenty-four hours ago, it came to my attention that you expelled Ahsoka Tano from your order, and that Aayla Secure had left out of anger because of your choice."

"Did you come here to criticize our decision?" Windu said coldly.

Thel's eyes narrowed slightly, but he kept up his polite tone. "Not at all, I merely came here to inform you of their fate."

"What do you mean, their fate?" Shaak Ti asked.

"Did you honestly believe that we would abandon them to fend for themselves with out any support at all?" Thel asked. "They are now members of the Allied Species, part of our newest Special Operations team, Gray Team."

"I'm sorry," Plo Koon said, the faintest bit of hope in his voice "Is there any chance that you could go into more detail about this...Gray Team?"

"Of course," Thel said "Gray Team is an experimental unit, designed to test the capabilities of the SPARTAN Vs, three of which are members of Gray Team. Gray Team is comprised of three of the new SPARTAN Vs, Aaron and Amber Colton, and James Dante, and is lead by SPARTAN III Emily Colton. They were originally supposed to be the only members of Gray Team, but after the events that occurred yesterday, Ahsoka Tano, and Aayla Secura also became members. We are still searching for a trial by fire mission for them so that their capabilities can be tested."

"I am sorry, what is a SPARTAN V?" Kit Fisto asked.

"The newest reincarnation of the SPARTAN project. It is the result of a theory that extraordinarily talented Marines and ODSTs that are given SPARTAN grade augmentations will preform at a SPARTAN level. Since Aaron and Amber Colton, served important roles in the Battle of Instillation 03, and James Dante has an impressive service record of battles in the Human-Covenant War and the War on Salvation. Combined with the skill set of Emily Colton and of both of the ex-Jedi that are now with us, they will most likely be quite effective."

"I beg your pardon," Windu said "But I do believe that Ahsoka Tano was expelled for a reason. She has developed an attachment to one of your soldiers, and attachments lead to the Dark Side. If you allow her to be among your soldiers, you are only putting them in danger."

"I do believe that you are being paranoid," Thel said "From what I have heard and seen of Ahsoka Tano, she is emotionally stable, quite happy, and in a healthy relationship with Aaron Colton. I see no reason to view her as a threat and I can not help but wonder why you view attachments with so much distain."

"We do because they break the Jedi Code, which has stood for thousands of years," Windu said coldly.

"With all do respect, simply because a law as stood for a thousand years, does not make it just," Thel said calmly "I humbly recommend that you consider revising your code."

"Do you honestly expect us to do that?" Windu asked harshly "They've stood for this long because the Jedi view them as appropriate. Have you ever tried changing traditions that have stood for thousands of years? It simply can not be done."

It felt like the temperature in the room had dropped twenty degrees, as the air of politeness that had surrounded Thel vanished. His arms stiff, he reached towards the back of his neck, swung his cloak towards his back and unbuckled his chest plate and pulled it off, giving the Council an unobstructed view of his chest. Several of the Councilors were visibly shocked as they looked at it. In the forty-five years since Thel had received it, the Mark of Shame had not faded from his flesh.

"Do not," Thel said, his tone now cold "Ever lecture me on the improbability of abandoning ancient customs. My people followed the Prophets for three-thousand years, carrying out their bidding, killing and enslaving in their name. But when we discovered the truth, that the Prophets had lied to us, we abandoned the old ways. We did not walk the path our fathers had walked, we forged our own path."

Thel looked at Windu coldly, as he reattached his chest plate and readjusted his cloak. "If you continue to be a slave to tradition, it will be the end of you. Walk the path that was made by you, not by others. I don't believe I have anything else to say to you," he said, as he turned and began to walk out of the chamber.

"Now hold on a moment," Windu said angrily.

"I am sure that you have a well thought out counter-argument for my comment Master Windu," Thel said, not bothering to face Windu. "But I could compose an entire list of things that I could do right now that would be more productive than talking to you. Cleaning my armor is among the list, he said as he pushed the door open and left the chamber.

"Master Windu," Plo Koon said, looking at Windu "With all due respect, I really think that we should stop letting you be the voice of the Council when it comes to the Allied Species, they're starting to develop quite a negative opinion of you."

As Thel walked away from the Council Chamber, a figure began to walk towards him, having waited outside for him since he had entered. Thel spotted the figure. "Chancellor Palpatine," he said respectfully "Can I help you?"

"In a way," Palpatine said "I was hoping to speak with someone high up on the Allied Species chain of command, and you are at the very top."

"What did you wish to speak about?" Thel asked.

"First off, allow me to extend my sincere regret to the difficult situation that Miss Secura and Miss Tano have been placed in," he said sincerely.

"Do not be," Thel said "From what I learned from speaking with Windu, I am confident that they are much better off with us."

"Perhaps," Palpatine said "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you because some very vital information has recently come into my possession. One of my spies has recently discovered the location of General Grievous," he said, as he held out a datapad, witch Thel took. "All of the information that he gave me is on that pad. As you may or not be aware of, General Grievous is the only major CIS military commander still active. All of the other major CIS leaders, while successful businessmen, are poor military leaders. If you managed to kill or capture him, you would effectively disable the CIS's ability to fight, and while the war would mostly likely continue for several more months, the CIS would be doomed to defeat."

Thel looked thoughtfully at the datapad as he activated it and scrolled through the data. "Why did you give me this data?" he asked "Would it not be more productive to send your own forces after Grievous?"

"I know that the Allied Species is developing some tension with the Jedi Council," Palpatine said. "Think of this data as a peace offering, a sign that the Republic can be trusted."

"You are truly a wise leader," Thel said, as he slipped the datapad into a pocket in his cloak. "I thank you for this data but I must go."

"Of course," Palpatine said politely, as Thel began to walk away. Thel put his hand to his com unit to call for a Phantom, when he saw one land nearby. Thinking that he would ride it back up to the fleet, he began to walk towards it.

XXXXX

"We'll just be a minute Ramore," Aaron said, as he and Ahsoka climbed out of the Phantom.

"Snips," Anakin said from where he stood in front of the Phantom "What's going on, I haven't seen you at all today, then you contact me and tell me to meet you here without any explanation, what the Hell is...why are you wearing Allied Species armor?"

"Um, Anakin," Ahsoka said nervously "I'm...I'm not a Jedi anymore, I've been expelled from the order."

"You've been what!" Anakin shouted "What for?"

"I...I'm engaged," she said weakly "To Aaron," she added, gesturing at the SPARTAN V.

"You're engaged to Aaron and that's why the Council expelled you?" Anakin asked. Ahsoka nodded. "All right," Anakin said "I'll go talk to the Council, I may be able to convince them to let you back in if you break off your engagement, but it won't be..."

"What?" Ahsoka said, looking visibly shocked. "Anakin...I can't do that. I...I love him."

"Ahsoka," Anakin said sternly "You need to learn when to cut your losses, you may feel some sort of attachment towards Aaron, but you future is at stake here, you need to give it up." Somewhere in the back of his head, a voice was calling Anakin the world's biggest hypocrite. 'Her entire future is at stake here, besides she's too young to feel real love, to feel what I have.'

"Anakin," Ahsoka said, her voice now firm. "I've made my decision here, Aaron and I are going to be married."

"Damn it Ahsoka!" Anakin shouted angrily, prompting Aaron's hand to fly to his SMG, his hand tightening around the handle. "You've known him for a couple of months, and you've decided you're ready to throw away everything you have for him?"

"Yes," Ahsoka said calmly. An irrational spike of rage coursed through Anakin as he, without conscious thought, swung his mechanical hand at Ahsoka's face.

He struck her firmly across the face, causing her to fall over. Just as Anakin began to comprehend what he had done, a blinding pain split across his own face, Aaron had pistol-whipped him with his SMG. As Anakin staggered backwards, Aaron pointed his SMG at him as he spoke. "I'll say this once Skywalker," he hissed dangerously "If you ever even think about pulling a stunt like that again, I won't hesitate to kill you. Now fuck off before I decide you look better without a head."

Aaron could have sworn that Anakin's eyes flashed yellow before he turned and began to walk away without saying a word of apology to Ahsoka. Turning to face her, Aaron helped Ahsoka to her feet. "You alright?" Aaron asked in a concerned voice, noticing a bruise begining to form where Anakin had struck her.

"I...I don't know," Ahsoka said in a cracked voice, clearly holding back tears. "Anakin's gotten mad at me before, but he...he never hit me before." She looked at Aaron "He...he's was never anything like this. Do you think he'll stay mad?"

"If he does he can go to Hell," Aaron said "You're not a child anymore Ahsoka, you're and adult that made a decision in your life. If Anakin can't see that than he can go fuck himself."

In spite of what had happened, Ahsoka couldn't help but give a weak chuckle. "You never have anything bad to say about me Aaron," she said softly.

"Never had a reason to," Aaron replied, gently stroking Ahsoka's cheek.

"Pardon me," a voice said, and both Aaron and Ahsoka snapped around to see Thel walking towards them. "Were you about to depart for the fleet?" he asked. Aaron and Ahsoka nodded. "Good, I shall join you. I believe I have Gray Team's mission."

Author's Note: Well the stage is set for Gray Team, mission, kill Grievous. In other news, has anyone got the Monument to All your Sins achievement? It's a real pain in the ass, I've only done two missions so far. As always please tell me what you think.


	46. Clash on Utapau

Chapter 46

Clash on Utapau

Author's Note: As some of you might have noticed, I have scrapped New Origins, and I am now working on a rewrite. Hopefully it will turn out better than the original, kind of like this one did. Anyway I am FINALLY a Captain in Halo Reach...and now they have the new ranks, the highest one is something called an Inheritor 20,000,000 CREDITS ARE NEEDED! Oh God, anyway enjoy.

It was nighttime on Coruscant. Anakin tossed and turned in his bed, his dreams haunted with screams of his wife. With a startled gasp, he sat bolt up right in his bed, his heart pounding. He was only slightly comforted when he glanced to the side and saw her sleeping there peacefully.

"Damn it," he muttered "This is the third time." Ever since he had learned that Padmé was pregnant, he had been haunted with nightmares of her dying in childbirth. He had no idea why this was happening, but he feared for the life of his wife.

He paused, thinking about was had happened recently. It had been twelve hours since Ahsoka had left the planet with the Allied Species, they would probably arrive at Utapau by tomorrow afternoon. He felt slightly guilty had having lashed out at Ahsoka, but couldn't help but feel that she was throwing away her entire life. He glanced at Padmé. 'I knew her for years before we were married, she's only known Colton for months. She's being naive.'

Anakin laid his head back upon his pillow and tried to drift off to sleep. He did so, but not before he recalled something Palpatine had told him the other day, the tale of Darth Plagueis.

XXXXX

"HE DID WHAT?" Emily roared at the top of her lungs. Gray Team was standing in a Pelican in the hanger of the _Firm Resolve_. Admiral Patterson's fleet was heading to Utapau, where, according to Palpatine's information Grievous was hiding, while Hanson's and Vadmare's fleet remained at Coruscant. Gray Team had accompanied Patterson's fleet, on the grounds that assassinating General Grievous would be their trial by fire mission.

Ahsoka flinched at Emily's shout as she nodded her head. "SKYWALKER, THAT SON OF A BITCH!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "HE'S LUCKY I WASN'T DOWN THERE, I WOULD'VE DONE MORE THAN PISTOL WHIP HIM!" Ahsoka and Aaron had just told the rest of Gray Team what had happened right before they had left Coruscant, in other words how Anakin had slapped Ahsoka.

"And Ahsoka was the one expelled," Aayla said coldly.

"Look can we not talk about this right now?" Aaron said, cutting across the others. Emily looked like she was about to say something, when she noticed that Ahsoka was fidgeting uncomfortably.

"So," Amber said trying to break the tension "What do you think about the armor attachments that they gave us?" A couple of hours ago, Paterson had shown Gray Team a selection of equipment that could be attached to their armor to enhance their combat potential. However they had been designed for MJOLNIR so Ahsoka and Aayla could not use them, but then again, they preferred relying on just the Force and their light sabers. Emily had taken a jet-pack, Amber had taken a dropsheild Aaron had taken active camouflage, while James had taken armor-lock.

"They're bound to be helpful in a pinch," James said. "Helps being able to survive a tank shell."

"All right," Emily said "We'll be arriving soon, so here's the 411. The _Firm Resolve _is the only ship that will be going directly to Utapau, the rest of the fleet has dropped out of Slipspace a few minutes away from there. We'll be going down alone so that we don't draw too much attention. Our mission is to find Grievous and eliminate him. If the CIS forces with him, if there are any, are too much for us to handle, the _Firm Resolve _will signal the rest of the fleet and Paterson will launch an invasion to clean them up. Any questions?" Nobody spoke.

"All right," Emily said, as a familiar vibration coursed through the ship, signifying that it had left Slipspace. All of the human members of Gray Team put on their helmets. Amber wore a Commando helmet, Aaron a Scout, Emily a Recon, and James a Grenadier. "Remember, when we get down to the surface, act like we're not on a mission and let me do the talking." The other's nodded as the Pelican descended towards the planet's surface.

As the Pelican landed on a pad in one of the many sinkholes that dotted Utapau, the back door opened and Gray Team disembarked. As they did so, a Pau'an wearing red ropes and carrying an ornate staff walked towards them. "Greetings," he said politely "What brings the Allied Species to our humble city? Is there anything that I can do to help you?"

"Unfortunately, we're here because of the war," Emily said.

Tion, surprisingly, remained rather calm as he continued to speak. "I am sorry but there the war has yet to touch our planet, for which we are very grateful."

"I'm sorry," Emily said "But we've received information that pointed us here. We believe that General Grievous is hiding here."

Tion glanced to his right nervously, before leaning towards Emily. "He's here," he whispered "We're being held hostage, they are watching us. 10th level, thousands of droids."

Emily nodded. "Get any civilians to shelter. Is you have anyone that can fight, I recommend that they join in once the shooting starts."

"Are you bringing reinforcements?" Tion asked, a faint speck of hope in his voice.

"Oh yeah," Emily said, her grin hidden by her helmet. We've got an entire flee outside of scanner range, waiting for the word. We're just an advance team, here to make sure that Grievous doesn't get away." Aaron gently nudged Emily and obscurely gestured to a high up cliff. Out of the corner of her eye, Emily saw a Magna Guard and two battle droids watching them. "I see them," she whispered "Everyone, back to the Pelican, we're going to pull a little switcheroo.

Gray Team turned around and walked back to the Pelican, stepping on board. Aaron lagged behind, glancing at the cliff where the Magna Guard had been. It was gone. "Coast is clear," he whispered.

"All right," Emily said, as she opened the door to the pilot's cockpit. "Head back to the Firm Resolve, we're staying behind. The pilot nodded as Gray Team disembarked the Pelican again. The Pelican's back door closed as it rose up and began to head upwards, towards the atmosphere.

"All right," Aayla said, looking upward. "Level 10, let's end this."

XXXXX

After around twenty minutes of climbing upward, Gray Team was walking along the support beams that crisscrossed just beneath the roof of the room that they were in. "Hold up," Emily said, holding her hand. Below them were, as Tion had said, thousands of droids, and standing in the center talking to four Magna Guards was..."Grievous," Emily said.

"Alright," James said "How are we going to go about this?"

"First thing's first," Emily said as she put her hand to the side of her helmet. "Admiral Paterson this is Gray-1 we have a confirmed visual on Grievous, give the fleet the green light. All right," she said, taking her hand away from her helmet. "Aaron activate your camo and stay up here." Aaron nodded as he disappeared with a simmer.

"Damn it," he swore softly. "Can't get a clear shot at Grievous, his Magna Guards are in a 'Catch the Bullet' formation."

"Aw well, I had a feeling it wouldn't bet a touch and go mission," Emily sighed. Everyone else," she said, looking around her "Let's go," she said as the all jumped down, landing squarely on their feet.

"Hey ugly," Ahsoka said out loud, announcing their arrival. The effect was instantaneous, every single droid spun around to face them, weapons raised.

"Well," Grievous said, turning to face Gray Team "Allied Species, exactly the last thing I need right now." As Amber, James and Emily drew their weapons, Aaron brought his sniper rifle up to eye level and Aayla and Ashoka ignited their light sabers, Ahsoka noticed a rather large dent in Grievous' body.

"He hasn't had time to repair himself,' she thought. 'That will give us an edge,' she realized, smiling slightly.

"Kill, them," Grievous said, and the four Magna Guards around him activated their staves as they began to move forward. As Aayla held her light saber in a defensive stance, she noticed a rather large piece of ventilation equipment attached to the ceiling, right above the Magna Guards. Raising her hand, she brought the metal mass crushing down with the Force, smashing all four of the Magna Guards under it.

"Nice," Ahsoka said, grinning at Aayla.

"Very well," he said, as he produced two light sabers, his secondary arms had not been replaced yet, and ignited them. "It seems that I will have to deal with you myself. Not that you stand any chance, I was trained in the Jedi arts, by Count Dooku."

"That's nice," Amber said "Ahsoka here was trained by the Jedi who _killed_ Count Dooku." Grievous let out a snarl as he leapt forward, swinging both of his light sabers, aiming each one at both of the ex-Jedi. They both blocked the blows and threw their own counterattacks, Ahsoka darting to the side and slashed at Grievous, while Aayla simply stabbed forward. Grievous barley blocked the blows that were thrown at him, as he exchanged several quick blows with Aayla and Ahsoka.

Grievous was about to go on the offensive, when Amber, James and Emily all opened fire at him, forcing him to wildly swing his light sabers, desperately blocking the bullets. He jumped back as they paused to reload, and looked as if he was about to make another offensive move, when an explosion rocked the room. Everyone glanced at the wide open sinkhole, and saw dozens of Allied Species dropships landing on various platforms and firing at the CIS forces, some of them landed in the room Gray Team was in, drawing the attention of the droids.

Aaron took advantage of Grievous' momentary lapse in focus and fired a shot at Grievous' chest. The bullet buried itself in the plating, but failed to completely pierce it and reach the vital organs, although it did come close. Grievous' head snapped upward to look at the now revealed Aaron. He let out a roar of rage and threw one of his light sabers at Aaron, who jumped off of the platform and landed neatly on his feet.

Grievous drew and ignited another light saber just in time to block Ahsoka and Aayla, who had made another charge and swung their light sabers at him. Grievous desperately attempted to block the oncoming light saber blows in addition to the bullets the were raining down on him. The overwhelming attacks from all directions, in addition to his defective eye, was causing him to be overwhelmed, bullets were beginning to scrape him as he barley dodged them. He was also much slower than usually, thanks to the breathing problem he had gained from his fight with Thel.

Almost simultaneously, both Aayla and Ahsoka threw a Force Push at Grievous, sending him flying back on his back, his light sabers falling from his hands. Realizing that he had lost his weapons, Grievous positioned himself on his remaining limbs, and began to scuttle away. Gray Team immediately began to sprint after him, and saw that he was heading for a circular wheel bike, clearly his escape route.

"Oh no you don't!" Aayla shouted, as Grievous climbed onto the bike, activating it. As the bike began to accelerate both Aayla and Amber jumped for it and managed to cling to it as it sped off, out of sight.

"Aw shit," Aaron said as he, noticed something shinning on the ground. "Aayla dropped her light saber," he said as he picked it up. "Hope that the two of them can take Grievous in the state that they are now."

"They can," James said "They guy is a pushover now."

"Um, guys?" Ahsoka said "There's still a lot of droids here, and it looks like quite a few don't like us." Sure enough, the remaining members of Gray Team were being surrounded by droids.

"All right Gray Team," Emily said "Change of plans, eliminate all droids that pose a threat!" she shouted as she raised her rifle and began to fire.

XXXXX

As the bike sped through caverns, Aayla and Amber clang to it, trying to throw Grievous off. Aayla was frustrated with herself once she realized that she had dropped her light saber in her haste to grab onto the bike, but focused on thinking of ways to get rid of Grievous. Amber leveled her shotgun at Grievous, who was barley able to duck the blast as it was fired. Swinging his hand, he knocked the shotgun out of Amber's hand, and nearly sent her flying, but she held on tight.

Gathering the Force around her feet, Aayla held both of them together as she swung at Grievous, hitting him dead in the chest. Aayla's violent movement caused the bike to overbalance as it drove onto an air-pad. All three passengers fell off as the bike skidded over the edge.

Grievous got to his feet as he took a blaster from a holster on his ankle and fired it at Aayla. The ex-Jedi ducked the blast and threw a Force Push at Grievous. Grievous barley leapt out of the way in time, only to be charged at by Amber, who had drawn her combat knife. He caught her knife hand by the wrist, although he was barley able to hold her back. He began to raise his blaster only to have Amber grab his wrist and hold it there.

The two struggled, attempted to overpower each other, when Aayla threw another Force Push at Grievous. Unable to dodge, the droid was blown onto his back, where Amber jumped upon him and brought her knife down. It slipped between the plates on Grievous' chest and came to a stop with a squishy thud.

Grievous began to cough violently, more violently than he had ever coughed, as he desperately tried to get to his feet, but was unable to due to the lack of air that he was getting. Amber kept a firm grip on her knife and forced it in deeper as Grievous continued to struggle. Grievous began to slow, his thrashes becoming weaker, until he ceased to move at all. He was dead.

Amber let out a sigh of relief as she pulled her knife out of Grievous and cleaned it on her shoulder plate. "Thanks for saving my ass," she said, nodding at Aayla.

"Anytime," she replied warmly. "It looks like Admiral Paterson made a wise choice. SPARTAN Vs truly are something to be reckoned with."

Author's Note: Well Grievous is dead, and the CIS is on the brink of defeat, but it isn't over yet. By the way CISfan, you're probably upset with the way Grievous died. Well I'm gonna be blunt, I gave up on trying to make you happy a long time ago, I simply refused to, basically, rewrite my whole story for you. It's not "It is too scripted" or "The characters are too flat" I would take that as constructive criticism. You basically say "I don't like the way you portray the CIS." Sorry pal, I didn't mean to cause offense.


	47. Seeds of the Future

Chapter 47

Seeds of the Future

Author's Note: Well I'm closing in on the Major rank in Halo Reach, and I'm also looking forward to the upcoming Fallout New Vegas. You're running around post apocalyptic Vegas and the Mojave desert looking for a person that shot you and helping decide a war between the New California Republic and Caesar's Legion, what more do you want? First stop, VEGAS, time to try my luck at the cards. (Note to self, slip in a shotgun just in case I lose)

"All right," Aaron said, as he leveled his sniper rifle and fired a shot, taking the head off of the last droid in the 10th level. "We're clear." Grievous had clearly had not had the forces to deal with a full scale invasion of the city. Considering that Paterson's fleet was the size of the fleet that had launched the assault on Instillation 03, she had more than a city invasion force, she had a force large enough to conquer the entire planet in a matter of hours. Reports were coming in from all over that CIS holdouts were being decimated, and it was estimated that the battle would be over in half an hour.

"How do you think Amber and Aayla are holding up?" James asked as he faced the others.

"We're doing just fine thanks you very much," said as voice, as Gray Team turned their heads to see Amber and Aayla approaching them.

"What happened to Grievous?" Emily asked, looking at the two of them.

"Dead," Amber said, drawing her finger across her throat as she spoke. "Stabbed in the throat."

"Good," Aaron said "By the way Aayla, I'd keep a tighter grip on this if I were you." As he spoke he tossed Aayla her light saber who caught it, smiling.

"Pelican!" Ahsoka said, as she pointed to the opening in the level. Indeed on of the UNSC's dropships was descending to their position. As it hovered above the ground, the back door opened and Admiral Paterson stepped down.

"It's good to see that you are all alright," she said, as Gray Team approached her. "If I may ask, what was the outcome of your mission?"

"Successful," Emily said, as she gave Paterson the thumbs up. "He's dead."

Paterson smiled. "ONI will be glad to hear this, within months there's bound to be dozens, if not hundreds of SPARTAN Vs in active service." Patterson looked around at the various Allied Species troopers securing the level. "I see no reason to maintain a presence here, I'm going to give the order to pull out all Allied Species forces that aren't in active combat. Also I think that the Republic will want to hear about this."

XXXXX

"Is this information accurate?" "Shaak Ti asked in a disbelieving voice.

Vadmare 'Katar clicked his mandibles in an irritated manner. He had been informed of Gray Team's success half an hour ago. He had gone to the Council to inform them of the mission's results, as a matter of fact he had volunteered to go in Thel 'Vadam's place. 'Because the look on the faces of these pompous fools will be worth a thousand years of glory,' he thought slyly to himself. "Yes," he replied "They are indeed accurate, General Grievous was assassinated by Gray Team half an hour ago."

"How is this possible?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked, disbelief heavy in is voice. "Grievous has plagued us since the early days of the Clone Wars, how could have Gray Team dispatched him so easily?"

"Simple," Vadmare replied. "From what I have heard he suffered a devastating injury when Councilor 'Vadam crushed his organ sack, causing his combat performance to drop rapidly."

"Even with an injury like that, killing Grievous is not a task that can be accomplished by anyone," Windu said, staring at Vadmare icily.

"With all due respect," Vadmare said "You are not viewing this third-dimensionally."

"I beg your pardon?" Obi-Wan asked, looking confused.

"Simply because someone is very skilled does not make him invulnerable," Vadmare explained. "In the Human-Covenant War, SPARTAN IIs were the strongest warriors ever seen by both sides, but one by one, they fell until barley any were left alive. You see, no matter how skilled you are on the battlefield, you can simply be killed by artillery fire, or orbital bombardment. It is even possible to be overwhelmed by pure numbers, or to be ambushed. In war, all of you, me, even every last SPARTAN and Jedi is in danger of being killed at any moment, death does not spare the mighty."

"That is a very positive outlook on life Fleetmaster," Windu said sarcastically.

"It is a realistic outlook," Vadmare snarled. "It is the reason warriors can not become haughty, lest their overconfidence lead to death." Vadmare could almost feel the tension between him and Windu, and decided to terminate it before it got out of hand. "I have nothing else to say," he said as he turned and exited the Council Chambers.

"I do believe that I could use a stroll," he said to himself as he put his hand to his com unit. " 'Altre I will not be returning to the Glorious Victory for some time. Return the Phantom to the ship, or remain her until I return, whatever you wish.

"Very well," Ramore said as Vadmare let his hand fall. Vadmare exhaled heavily as he left the Temple, looking up at the setting sun. He would never actually admit it, but sometimes after a particularly long term of service, he felt so very...tired. Normally he had ignored these feelings until he was deployed again, but now they plagued him, stronger than ever.

'I have no doubt in my mind that the events of this war are responsible for my predicament,' Vadmare thought as he walked. 'The question is, what specifically is causing it?' Maybe it was the fact that he was so very far away from home, from Sangheilos. Perhaps Aayla's words of peace and equality had rubbed off on him a little bit, after all his words of doing the necessary had had some effect on her. Perhaps it was the way that he had descended into a berserker rage after, Vadmare shivered at the memory, his son's death had been mocked.

Vadmare blinked as the various pieces connected themselves, and the answer to his predicament presented itself. Vadmare shook his head, never in his 80 years would he ever find himself in this situation. "I am...tired of being the ruthless Fleetmaster that I have become," Vadmare muttered in a disbelieving tone. "Then again," he said "It isn't very surprising, what would your son say if he saw you now?" Vadmare shuddered, the mere thought of that scared him more than anything he had even encountered in this war.

In spite of himself, Vadmare chuckled as he looked at the setting sun. "Well, Secura," he said "It looks like you were right, very well." Vadmare reached to his thigh, and drew a metal knife that resembled a one bladed energy sword. "My son," he muttered as he slashed his palm, purple blood splattering on the ground as he did so. "I will not cease doing what must be done, but I swear on your grave and the name of the 'Katar family, that I will search for ways that lead to less bloodshed."

Vadmare placed his half-blade back on his thigh as he continued to walk. He didn't feel tired at all.

XXXXX

"I just got the report" Admiral Paterson said as she stood before Gray Team, on the bridge of the _Firm Resolve_. "The last of the CIS forces have been wiped out and the locals are free. The fleet won't be leaving for around twelve hours, since some of our forces have remained behind to help repair the damage that was causing by the fighting, after that we'll depart. Until then, you should probably get some rest, dismissed," she said as Gray Team exited the bridge.

"All right," Emily said "That mission went flawlessly, and I'm proud of every single one of you." She grinned "Then again I'd be proud of you all even if it was a complete disaster. Anyway, I say we take the Admiral's advice and get some sleep. Gray Team went their separate ways, heading towards their various rooms. The six of them thinned out, until only Ahsoka and Aaron remained.

"Well this is your stop," Aaron said as they stopped in front of Ahsoka's quarters.

"Yeah," Ahsoka said, looking uncertainly at the door. "Um, Aaron in there any chance that you could come in for a minute?"

Aaron looked at Ahsoka for a second before he smiled "Of course," he said, as Ahsoka opened the door and they both entered, Aaron closing the door behind them. Ahsoka sat down on the bed, Aaron sitting next to her. "How are you holding up?" Aaron asked as both of them began to remove their armor, piling it neatly on the floor.

"I still feel a little numb over the whole thing," Ahsoka said as she removed the last of her armor, leaving her in only her tank top and shorts. "We're really going to be married aren't we?" Aaron nodded, smiling. "Um," Ahsoka said, rubbing the back of her neck nervously "Were are we going to live?"

"With the rest of the family," Aaron said simply, sliding his arm around Ahsoka's waist. "Us Coltons like to stick together."

Ahsoka smiled as she rested her head on Aaron's shoulder. "I like the sound of that," she whispered.

"I'm glad," Aaron said as he leaned in and kissed Ahsoka deeply. Ahsoka let out a soft moan as they wrapped their arms around each other, kissing each other passionately, but also lovingly. They overbalanced, and ended up lying on the bed, Ahsoka on top. Almost subconsciously, Aaron's hand slid to Ahsoka's chest and squeezed one of her her breasts.

Ahsoka let out a gasp as she pulled away from Aaron's lips. "Ahsoka," Aaron said hastily "I didn't mean to push you too..."

"Aaron it's ok," Ahsoka said as she smiled slightly "I...I liked it. So..." she said in an unsure voice "How far should we...go?"

"I say that we stop whenever we feel like we've gone too far, alright?" Aaron asked. Ahsoka nodded, smiling brightly. "I love you Ahsoka," Aaron said, returning her smile.

"I love you too Aaron," Ahsoka said as she leaned in and captured Aaron's lips with her own.

XXXXX

Ramore let out a sigh as his hand fell away from his com unit. "It would appear that I posses some time for recreational activities," he muttered. Walking away from his landed Phantom, Ramore glanced around for anything of interest. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted what appeared to be a rather large greenhouse at the base of the temple. Curious, Ramore made his way down towards the greenhouse and entered it.

Ramore blinked as he looked around the greenhouse. It was filled with all kinds of plants in addition to various pieces of decorative scenery, including stone walkways, pieces of pottery, and countless waterfalls. "I do believe Ahsoka told me of this place," Ramore said. "What was the name of it...the Room of a Thousand Fountains wasn't it? Yes, that is it." Ramore closed his eyes and deeply inhaled the scent of the various plants. He found himself being reminded of his family's private garden back on Sangheilos, and found himself slightly longing to return home. Ramore exhaled as he opened his eyes. "A welcome change from a planet that is little more that a sphere shaped city," he said to no one in particular.

As he walked through the garden, he spotted a green skinned woman with raven black hair tending to a patch of flowers with the Force, humming softly. As a twig snapped underneath Ramore's hoofed feet, she jumped, looking for the source of the noise, relaxing when she saw Ramore. "Sorry," she said apologetically "I didn't think that there was anyone else here."

"My apologizes for not making a presence known," Ramore said, bowing his head respectfully. "My name is Ramore 'Altre, Sangheili Special Operations."

"I'm Barriss Offee, Jedi Knight," Barriss said, bowing her head also. "Allow me to extend my gratitude to you, the Allied Species have been assisting us greatly. I was on Felucia in the middle of what was estimated to be a three month campaign when Allied Species arrived and made it a three week campaign."

"I am glad to see that not everyone in the Jedi Order is disgusted of us," Ramore said "Then again, Aayla Secura and Ahsoka Tano supported us, but after..." he broke off as a depressed expression crossed Barriss' face. "Did I say something wrong?" Ramore asked.

"No," Barriss said. "I...I was just friends with Ahsoka that's all. We served together during the beginning of the Clone Wars." Barriss chuckled "She was a lot more headstrong back them, not really thinking things through before she acted, she really matured in the last three years." Barriss paused as a saddened look crossed her face. "Still, that brash attitude of hers saved my life. If she hadn't even bothered with the Brain Worm..." Barriss shook her head, she still had nightmares about that sickly yellow worm crawling inside her head. "She...she didn't deserve what happened to her," Barriss said. "The Dark Side is a word, nothing more. The Force is more or less a tool and a tool does not make the wielder evil, it is the actions of the wielder that make him evil."

Ramore blinked. "I do not wether to be amazing or saddened that you seem to posses more wisdom than most of the Jedi Council, most likely both." Barriss blushed slightly as she glanced at the flowers that she had been tending.

"The man that Ahsoka is going to be marrying," Barriss said, glancing back at Ramore "Do you know him?" Ramore nodded. "Is he a good man?"

"Yes," Ramore said "He and the rest of his family love Ahsoka as if she already is part of their family."

"Good," Barriss said "After all Ahsoka's done, she deserves that. Do me a favor, tell her husband to be that if he ever hurts her, I will make very difficult for them to have kids, if you know what I mean."

Ramore grinned "I'll keep it in mind," he said.

XXXXX

Ahsoka let out a shriek of pure ecstasy that she was barley able to repressed by shoving her face into a pillow. Panting heavily, she readjusted herself so that she was lying next to Aaron. They were both lying in Ahsoka's bed, their cloths lay discarded next to it. "That..." Ahsoka said, "That was...it...we..."

"It was amazing," Aaron said gently, as he also panted heavily "Because you made it amazing."

Ahsoka blushed violently as she looked at Aaron. "You helped," she said softly "I mean half of the things you did...I seriously doubt just anyone would be that loving. Another thing Aaron you were so...you were so...gentle." She smiled "I loved it."

"Glad to hear it," Aaron said, as Ahsoka snuggled close to him. He kissed her lightly on the forehead, as she pressed herself against him. "Goodnight Ahsoka," he whispered, as they both drifted off to sleep.

Later that night, unbeknownst to both Ahsoka and Aaron's knowledge, inside Ahsoka's body, two spindle shaped cells made their way towards two circle shaped cells. Each one of the spindle cells made their way into one of the circle cells. Both of the cells quivered, then divided into two separate cells.

Author's Note: Vadmare comes to terms with his dead son and Ramore established friendly relationships with Barriss Offee. And Ahsoka and Aaron...well...yeah. Tell me what you think.


	48. Defining Choice

Chapter 48

Defining Choice

Author's Note: Well here's the next chapter. This story is starting to come to a close, I estimate it will last for around...5-10 more chapters, maybe more, I'm not certain. In other words, Fallout New Vegas comes out in six days and I really liked Fallout 3, so it should go pretty well.

Palpatine sat in his office, studying several holographic projections when Anakin entered. "Anakin," he said, deactivating the holograms as he got to his feet "How can I help you?"

"They Jedi Council sent me," Anakin replied. "We've just received word, the Allied Species have successfully assassinated General Grievous."

"That is wonderful news," Palpatine said.

"Yes," Anakin said. "The Council has also requested that you give your emergency powers back to the Senate."

"Ah," Palpatine said," as he turned and looked out onto the horizon. "They would want me to give them up."

"What do you mean by that?" Anakin asked, clearly confused.

"Anakin, the Council is not worth of your trust," Palpatine. "What exactly have they done that is worthy of admiration? So far they have falsely accused the Allied Species of bombarding Coruscant, abandoned the Allied Species in their time of need, they have yet to even thank them for the military aid they have provided, and then there is the matter of them expelled your Padawan."

Anakin scowled as Palpatine mentioned Ahsoka. "Anakin, please tell me that you haven't even had the slightest doubt in the Council?"

"The Jedi Council has worked this entire war into ensuring that the galaxy did not fall under the control of the CIS," Anakin said. Despite what he said, he realized that Palpatine's words had some truth to them and a nagging doubt about the Council began to gnaw at him.

"True," said Palpatine "Your head says that they are selfless, but what does your heart say?" Anakin was at a lost for words, having no idea what to say. "Anakin, the Jedi believe that their way is the only way, they shut off their emotions and as a result become stoic, uncaring of the lives of others, and they strike down anyone who stands against them. You can not blindly follow them if you wish to save your wife."

Anakin felt his body tense. "What did you say?" he said softly.

"I know what's been bothering you lately," Palpatine said "I can teach you how to save your wife."

"You know the ways of the Force?" Anakin asked, temporarily forgetting what Palpatine had said earlier. "How?"

"My mentor taught me all of the aspects of the Force," Palpatine replied "Even the nature of the Dark Side." Anakin's eyes widened as Palpatine continued to speak. "Use my abilities, I beg of you. If the two of us work together we might even be able to come with a way to cheat death."

"You're a Sith!" Anakin shouted as he ignited his light saber. "You're the Master Dooku talked about."

"Anakin," Palpatine said "You can not continue to be a slave to the Council, that will accomplish nothing except sentencing your wife to death." Palpatine paused as Anakin held his light saber, unsure of what to do. On one hand he had fought against the Sith since he was a young boy in the days of the Invasion of Naboo, on the other hand, Palpatine's words deeply shook his faith in the Jedi Council. For once in his life, Anakin had no idea what to do.

He stepped back as he deactivated his light saber. "I'm going to turn you in to the Jedi Council, I'll let them decide your fate."

"Of course," Palpatine said, as he bowed his head. "But Anakin, remember what I said. Only together can we save Padmé, from certain death."

XXXXX

"Morning," Ahsoka said happily, as she and Aaron sat down at the same cafeteria table that the rest of Gray Team was sitting at.

"Well," Amber said, eyeing Aaron and Ahsoka, who were both grinning from ear to ear "You're both in a good mood today. You get a really good nights sleep or something."

"You could say that," Aaron said.

'Geez,' Emily thought 'The last time I was as giddy as Ahsoka is right now, it was right after I-OH DEAR LORD, THEY HAD SEX!' Emily struggled to keep a straight face, and barely succeeded in doing so. 'Emily calm down and think this through,' she mentally dictated herself. 'They came in at the same time, which suggests that they did spend the night in the same room. Oh Lord they did it didn't they? Well, I guess I really shouldn't be surprised, they **are** engaged,' she thought as a grin spread across her face. 'Aw well, I always wanted to have grandkids.'

"So when are we leaving?" Aaron asked.

"Around an hour I think," James said. "The damage from the fighting was relatively light, they're just putting on the finishing touches right now."

"That's good to hear," Ahsoka said. "I have to be honest, since the war has been going for the last three years, I've almost forgotten what it feels like to be a peace, I'm glad it's all coming to an end."

"Trust me Ahsoka, you are not the first one, nor will you be the last one to forget what peace feels like," Aayla said. "It is quite common in war, but, as you said, this war is coming to an end. I look forward to it."

"Yeah, now that you mention that," Amber said, as she looked at Aayla. "What are you going to do after the war. The rest of us have decided we're going to retire, but since we're SPARTANs they're probably going to keep us on an active roster in case we're ever needed."

"I suppose I'll get an apartment on Horizon, probably in Wheatherton not too far away from where you live. I'll have to see what I can do about a job," Aayla replied.

"I can put in a good word for you," Emily said "Considering the fact that James and I saved the town back in the War on Salvation they owe us one."

"Thanks," Aayla said, smiling.

XXXXX

"Master Windu," Anakin said as he approached Windu in the Jedi Library.

"Skywalker," Windu said, as he looked at Anakin "What is it? Did Palpatine agree to give up his emergency powers?

"Master I have discovered a horrible truth," Anakin said "Chancellor Palpatine is the Sith Lord that trained Count Dooku. He's the one we've been looking for this whole time."

"What!" Windu said sternly, raising his eyebrows. "How did you find out about this?"

"He told me himself, he knows the way of the Dark Side," Anakin replied.

"If this is true, then we are in a very precarious situation," Windu said. "If Palpatine truly is a Sith then we must act quickly, less he use his position to wipe out the Jedi Order. I will gather the available Councilors to deal with him."

"Master Windu, Palpatine is most likely an incredibly powerful Sith, I should go with you to help," Anakin said in a determined voice.

"Skywalker, I sense that you are extremely confused, it is understandable considering your closeness with the Chancellor. Considering that your Padawan was recently expelled from the Order, you are most likely in a great deal of inner-turmoil. If what you have told me is true then you have gained my trust. Wait in the Council Chamber until I return."

Without another word, Windu walked past Anakin and left the Library. Anakin turned and watched Windu walked away. The gnawing feeling that Palpatine had put in his stomach had grown. He felt like he had just made a terrible mistake. What if Palpatine was right? What if the Jedi were not as pure as they were portrayed to be, what if he really could save Padmé? Not exactly sure what he planned to do, Anakin set off after Windu. He had no idea what would follow the events of this day, but they would shape the future of the entire galaxy.

XXXXX

Palpatine sat in his chair, facing the entrance of his office as Mace Windu, Saesee Tiin, Agen Kolar and Kit Fisto entered the room. "Ah, Master Windu how very good to see you, I imagine you are quite relieved to hear that Grievous is no longer a threat."

Windu ignored Palpatine's comment, as he and the other Masters drew and ignited their light sabers. "Chancellor Palpatine," Windu said stoically in the name of the Galactic Senate, you are under arrest."

"Are you threatening me, Windu?" Palpatine said, his warm tone dissolving like salt in water.

"I am simply ensuring the safety of the Republic," Windu replied coldly.

Palpatine stood up slowly. From an unseen location, a curved light saber snapped into his hands. "It's treason then," he said plainly, as he ignited the blood red light saber, and executed a spinning jump towards the Jedi.

Before he even knew what had happened, Kolar had been stabbed through the chest and killed. With a speed that surprised even Windu, Palpatine drew his light saber out of Kolar chest, and slashed Tiin viciously across the chest, leaving only Kit and Windu alive. Both Jedi pressed in on Palpatine from opposite directions, attacking him viciously, and attempting to block Palpatine's violent and seemingly random blows. He viciously stabbed his light saber forward and slipped under Fisto's guard, killing the Jedi.

Turning to face his last opponent, Palpatine lunged at Windu, swinging his light saber wildly. The two of them grappled viciously, with Palpatine having the obvious advantage, Windu barley blocking his blows. Palpatine pressed in mercilessly on Windu, viciously swinging his light saber in nearly every way possible.

Just as Palpatine was about to launch a fresh barrage on Windu, he sensed a presence approaching their position. 'Anakin,' he thought, almost gleefully 'I knew he would come back. Palpatine and Windu's light sabers clashed, and as they broke away, the windows to Palpatine's officer were shattered, leaving a massive hole in the wall. 'He is almost here,' Palpatine thought as he deliberately lowered his speed.

Not hesitating, Windu brought his foot up and kicked the light saber out of Palpatine's hand, and caused the old man to overbalance. As Palpatine quickly shrunk back against the wall as Windu held his light saber to his throat. Right on cue, Anakin entered the room.

"Anakin," Palpatine said, faking desperation "You see? I was right, the Jedi are taking over."

"You have lost Palpatine," Windu said, the slightest bit of triumph in his voice.

"No," Palpatine said, "No,no, you have lost!" he roared as lighting erupted from his hands, streaking towards Windu, who barley blocked it in time. As Palpatine continued to concentrate more lighting at Windu, the Jedi forced his light saber forward, pushing the lighting back at Palpatine.

Anakin looked from one side of the struggle to another, completely unsure of what to do. "I can save her Anakin," Palpatine said, his voice growing weak, as his own lightening was redirected back at him, which was beginning to dement his face, which was quickly growing gray and sickly. "But I need your help," he continued as his lightening began to thin "I can't hold him, I...I'm too weak," he said weakly, as the lighting pouring from his hands vanished.

"This ends now," Windu said darkly, as he held the point of his light saber at Palpatine's throat.

"Master," Anakin said suddenly "You can't do this, he needs to stand trial."

"Anakin, the Senate and the courts are nothing but his puppets, he's too dangerous to leave this room," Windu said hotly, as he began to raise his light saber.

"Please don't," Palpatine muttered weakly. Windu ignored him as he continued to raise his light saber.

"I need him!" Anakin said sharply, but Windu's light saber had reached it's peak as he began to swipe downwards. "NO!" Anakin shouted, as he ignited his own light saber and swung upwards, severing Windu's arm. Windu let out a cry of pain as he clutched his stump of an arm, his light saber falling out of the office.

As Palpatine watched, a smile grew across his face. "POWER!" he shouted, as he raised his hands and renewed lighting shot from them, electrocuting Windu. Anakin watched in shock as Windu let out silents shrieks of agony as the Force Lighting coursed through his body. "UNLIMITED, POWER!" he roared, as the lightening intensified, blowing Windu out of the window and to his death. Palpatine let out a sigh of victory as he stood up.

"What have I done?" Anakin said weakly.

"You are walking the true path, nothing more," Palpatine said as he walked towards Anakin. "Join me Anakin, learn the true ways of the Force, and save your wife from death."

"I," Anakin said weakly "I'll do anything you tell me, I can't lose Padmé. Just help me save her. I...I pledge myself to the Dark Side."

"Good," Palpatine said, his voice growing deeper and deeper by the second "You will be a mighty Sith. You are Anakin Skywalker no longer, from this day forth you will be known as Darth Vader. Palpatine smiled, as his face as Chancellor Palpatine of the Galactic Republic fell away. He was that man no longer, he had never been that man, he was Darth Sidious, Lord of the Sith.

"We must act quickly," he said "Once the Jedi learn what has happened here they will strike again with a much larger force. We must destroy them before they destroy us. Vader, take the 501st Legion and march on the Jedi Temple, catch them off guard. Wipe them out, all of them."

"And what of the Allied Species?" Vader asked.

"Their fate has not yet been decided," Sidious replied. "I hope that they will understand that we did the galaxy a great service by killing the Jedi, after all they have been thoroughly mistreated by them. But know this Vader, if any Allied Species stand in your way, do not hesitate to strike them down."

Vader nodded "It will be done my lord, but what about the Jedi across the Jedi across the galaxy?"

"They are taken care of," Sidious replied. "Once the Jedi at the Temple have been wiped out, go to the Mustafar system and wipe out the remaining CIS leaders." Sidious smiled "Soon the Sith will rule the galaxy, and it will know peace."

Author's Note: I told you that this story wouldn't be ending the same way that the original did. Wow 120k, let's see how far I can push this. Alright be honest with me, how many of you expected Anakin to turn to the Dark Side in this version?


	49. Raw Determination

Chapter 49

Raw Determination

Author's Note: Alright, here's chapter 49, and as I said things are coming to a close, but there are still a few loose ends to wrap up. I think one climatic battle should wrap up this story pretty well, but I still need to do some building up, let's begin.

"Does tending to the plants help calm your nerves?" Ramore asked as Barriss used the Force to tip a watering can over the flowers she was tending to.

"Sometimes," she replied, as she set the watering can down. "Why do you ask?"

"There is a rather large garden at my home back on Sangheilos," Ramore replied. "I always found the atmosphere to be calming, I was merely wondering if others were at ease around gardens." Barriss smiled. "It is late," Ramore said, looking out a window and noticing that night had fallen around them. "Most likely Fleetmaster 'Katar will want to...what is that noise?"

Both Ramore and Barriss turned to face the doors of the Room of a Thousand Fountains. They could both faintly hear what sounded like thousands of people marching. "What in the name of my ancestors?" Ramore muttered, as he and Barriss exited the greenhouse, and saw thousands of clone troopers marching on the Jedi Temple, many having already reached it. "What in the world are they doing?" Ramore said, as he watched more of the clones march into the Temple.

"I don't know," Barriss said "We would only deploy this many soldiers if it was under attack."

Ramore was about to respond when he noticed a squad of five clone troopers approaching their position. "Is there any chance that you could explain why so many soldiers are being deployed to the Temple?"

Instead of answering Ramore's question, the clone Sergeant shouted out a commander to his squad "Blast her!". All five clones raised their blasters and fired at Barriss. The young Jedi barley ignited her light saber in time and deflected the blaster bolts, sending one back into one of the clone's heads. The clones were so focused on firing at Barriss, that they didn't notice that Ramore had activated both of his energy swords until he cut one of the clones in half, vertically. As one of the clones turned his blaster on Ramore, the Sangheili slammed his shoulder into the clone, forcing him to the ground. Before the clone could do anything, Ramore had lifted his foot and brought it down on the clone's head, crushing it. Barriss threw her light saber at one of the surviving clones, which slashed him across the chest, killing him as it flew back to Barriss' hand.

Ramore let out a roar as he charged as the clone Sergeant, energy swords in hand. The Sergeant fired his blast at Ramore, the bolts impacting on his shields. Just as the shields failed, Ramore thrusted one of his energy swords forward, viciously skewering the clone. The energy sword penetrated the clone's armor and exited out of the other side. The clone let out a croak and dropped his weapon, he was not dead but clearly did not have far to do.

"Would you kindly explain why you just attacked us?" Ramore asked in a dangerously calm voice.

"We...we were ordered to," the clone croaked "Chancellor Palpatine issued Order 66."

"Which is?" Ramore asked, as he twisted his energy sword, causing the clone to cry out in pain.

"When Order 66 is issued, all Republic soldiers are to eliminate any and all Jedi, for the safety of the Republic. It's why we're marching on the Temple."

"You can't!" Barriss shouted. "Half of the Jedi in the Temple are only younglings, most are younger than ten."

"WHAT!" Ramore roared, as he glared venomously into the clone's eyes. "Do you mean to tell me, that you are prepared to commit genocide, against your own comrades, against children, because your Chancellor told you to?"

"Yes," the clone replied simply. Ramore said nothing as he brought up his other energy sword and beheaded he clone.

Barriss looked on in horror, as she remembered something Ahsoka mentioned what a clone had said when she was infected with the Mind Worm 'If there's one thing we know how to do, it's take down a Jedi.' "Force," she muttered under her breath.

"All respect I have for the clones just vanished," Ramore said as he looked at the corpses before him. "To follow orders without question, to kill the helpless without mercy or regret, it" he shook his head "It reminds me too much of the path my people used to walk. But this isn't the time for talking," he said sharply "The clones will be hunting you and we must assume that are targeting Allied Species forces as well, we must get away."

"How?" Barriss asked, the faintest hints of fear on her face.

"I landed a Phantom dropship not far away from here, we can use it to escape, and with any luck we may be able to evacuate some other Jedi. We must act quickly before the clones destroy it," he said, as he began to dash towards the Temple, Barriss right behind him. "Fleetmaster," he said, putting his hand to his com unit "We have a situation. For reasons unknown, Palpatine has issued an order to the clones, ordering them to eliminate all of the Jedi."

"WHAT!" Vadmare roared over the Battle-Net. "'Altre get as many Jedi as you can onto your Phantom, I will be there in three minutes."

"Very well," Ramore said as he lowered his hand. "Be swift," he said as he and Barriss dashed towards the Temple. They quickly made their way upwards and soon found themselves by Ramore's Phantom. "Good," Ramore said as he climbed into the dropship and activated it. "It is untouched," he said as he exited the dropship. "We will be able to evacuate a dozen Jedi at the very most, and if we do not hurry, we will most likely be overwhelmed." Ramore glanced at the mass of clone troopers approaching the temple. "We have five minutes at the very most before more clone troopers arrive than we can handle, and most likely the Phantom will be destroyed."

"Agreed," Barriss said, as they began to make their way towards the Temple. As they did, several blue flashes emitted from the blackened inside of the Temple accompanied by several screams. "Clones?" Barriss said as she raised her light saber.

"Those screams," Ramore said softly "They were the screams of children." Ramore tightening his hands on his energy swords. They tensed as the flashes drew closer. There was a soul tearing scream as they lifeless corpse of a Human female Jedi flew by them, hitting the ground with a dull thud.

"Clones can't throw like that," Barriss said slowly as she looked at the body of the Jedi. Her attention snapped back to the entrance of the Temple when the sound of weak crying reached her ears. A Twi'lek Jedi that couldn't be older than three ran out of the Temple, tears cascading down her face. As she did so, a bright blue light saber flew out of the Temple, aiming for the back of the Twi'lek.

Barriss bounded forward, and scooped up the Twi'lek in her arms, pulling her out of the light saber's path just in the nick of time. "A light saber?" Barriss said softly, as she clutched the sobbing Twi'lek in her arms.

"He,he's a monster," the Twi'lek sobbed, burring her face in Barriss' robes.

"Who's a monster?" Barriss asked in a comforting tone "What's your name?"

"My,my name is Rumas," the young Twi'lek sobbed. "We thought he was going to help us, but he ignited his light saber and...and," Rumas let out a loud sob as she buried her face in Barriss' robes again.

"What is happening here?" Barriss asked, looking at Ramore with a confused face.

"Justice, that is what's happening," said a voice that sounded eerily familiar. A figure wearing a black hooded clock and wielding a blue light saber. A familiar face was visible under the hood, although it had been demented.

"Skywalker?" Ramore said in a voice that was somewhere in-between shock and anger "What is the meaning of this?"

"This does not concern you Allied Species," Vader snapped at Ramore. "The Jedi have betrayed the Republic and the Chancellor, he has assigned me the duty of hunting them down." He pointed his light saber at Barriss, who was still holding Rumas in her arms "You two are about to learn what happened when you attempt to wrest control from the Chancellor."

"You're insane!" Barriss shouted "No Jedi would do this to his own kind!"

"I am no longer a Jedi," Vader said "Nor am I Anakin Skywalker. I am Darth Vader, apprentice to the Chancellor."

"You're a Sith," Barriss said in a disbelieving voice "And the Chancellor is too?"

"Yes," Vader said in a dangerous voice. "Now then, let's make this quick," he said as he raised his light saber.

"I think not," Ramore said as he stepped in-between Barriss and Vader, energy swords at the ready. "Barriss, get to the Phantom, take Rumas and get to the fleet. Get out of her."

"Ramore are you crazy?" Barriss shouted as she continued to clutch the sobbing Twi'lek. "There's no way that you can take him on your own."

"Listen to her 'Altre," Vader said darkly. "The Chancellor has no quarrel with the Allied Species, do not stand in my way."

"And allow such dishonorable slaughter to be carried out right under my face?" Ramore said angrily. "I think not. Barriss if you stay to fight, either you will die since you are being cumbered by Rumas, or she will die since you abandoned her to fight more effectively."

Barriss looked as if she was about to say something, but she closed her mouth and nodded. "Fine," she said as she turned and began to run to the humming Phantom.

"No you don't!" Vader shouted as he began to dash forward, light saber at the ready. Ramore stepped into Vader's path, blocking Vader's light saber.

"I think not," Ramore said, as his energy sword clashed with Anakin's light saber. "I am your opponent." Vader let out a snarl as he brought his light saber back and swung forward, only to be blocked by Ramore's energy sword. The two of them began to exchange blows, Vader was on the offensive while Ramore was on the defensive.

Barriss climbed into the Phantom and scrambled into the cockpit. "All right," she muttered, as she gently placed Rumas on the floor next to the seat. "They don't look that different from standard controls you see on any starship controls," she said as took a grip on the controls. She pulled back on the controls and the Phantom began to take off. "But Ramore," she said, as the Phantom began to fly, circling the place where Ramore and Vader where fighting. "I can't just leave him here."

As Barriss circled the fight, Vader was pressing in relentlessly on Ramore, who was barley keeping up with the Sith. 'This is not good,' Ramore thought as he barley blocked a barrage of blows from Vader. 'I can barley keep him from landing a blow, there is no way I can possibly defeat him.'

"For a non-force sensitive you fight very well," Vader said as Ramore blocked an overhead swipe, following it up quickly with an upper-cut. "But this must end," he said, as their blades clashed again. Vader took his right hand off of his light saber and darted forward, towards Ramore's chest. Ramore let out a cry of agony as Vader's mechanical hand pierced Ramore's armor and buried itself in Ramore's flesh. Vader drew his hand out, taking a purple fisted shaped organ with it.

"You," Ramore said, as he jumped back, clutching the hole in his chest. "You ripped out one of my hearts," he said in a voice that was very calm for someone who had just had a major internal organ removed.

"So I did," Vader said, discarding Ramore's heart as if it was a piece of trash. "With that much blood loss you can not even hope to keep up with me now. NOW DIE!" he said as he dashed forward, swinging his light saber madly.

Ramore let out a small chuckle. "Not the death I had envisioned, but considering that it is so a comrade may escape, there is honor in it," he said as Vader drew closer, his light saber darting towards Ramore's face.

"SKYWALKER!" roared a powerful voice, as a large figure jumped in-between, activating an energy sword and blocking Vader's light saber.

"Fleetmaster!" Ramore said in a surprised voice, as he dropped to one knee, feeling dizzy from the blood loss. Vadmare let out a roar as he pushed forward with his energy sword, pushing Vader back by several feet. "We must go!" Vadmare shouted as he grabbed Ramore and jumped onto the Phantom, which Barriss had flown low to the ground, so that they could board it.

"Seal the doors!" Vadmare shouted "We must escape to the fleet!" Barriss nodded as she slammed a button on the Phantom's dashboard, causing the doors to seal. She then pulled back on the controls, causing the Phantom to soar upwards and to the fleet.

Ramore collapsed onto the floor as Vadmare put his hand to his com unit. "Hanson!" he roared "Have all Allied Species forces been evacuated?"

"What?" Hanson replied "Yes, all Allied Species forces are off planet why do you...what the Hell, we've got Republic cruisers approaching us, they're charging weapons! Vadmare what the fuck is going on!"

"Now is not the time!" Vadmare replied. "Our Phantom is approaching the _Twilight_, as soon as we dock, make the jump to slipspace," he said, seeing the _Twilight_ growing closing on the Phantom's viewscreen. "NOW!" Vadmare roared, as the Phantom landed in the hanger bay of the _Twilight_. The familiar vibration's of slipspace traveled through the Phantom. "Good," Vadmare said "We have escaped."

"Is..." Rumas said, looking at Ramore nervously "Is he alright?"

"He must get to the medical bay," Vadmare said, as he opened the Phantom's doors and picked up Ramore in a fireman's carry. He jumped out of the Phantom and exited the hanger bay.

"I can't believe it," Rumas said, as she sat on the floor of the Phantom and began to cry softly. "Everyone I know...everyone at the Temple...they're all dead."

"Sh," Barriss said softly as she hugged the young girl. "It's going to be all right." 'How cruel,' Barriss thought. "Just when the war is almost over, the light at the end of the tunnel is snuffed out."

Author's Note: Well the Jedi purge and Order 66 begins, Ramore takes a massive injury, and only two known Jedi have escaped from the Temple, things are coming to a close. In other words, Fallout New Vegas comes out tomorrow, so I won't be writing tomorrow, well have a good night and tell me what you think.


	50. Setting the Board

Chapter 50

Setting the Board

Author's Note: Well I'm writing this right now because my brother's on the Xbox so I can't play New Vegas. On the whole I'm very happy with it, although there are a couple of bugs that need to be fixed, and most likely will be when patches are released. I'd have to go with what another online review gave it 8.5. Ok enough Fallout more FFAP.

"How bad?" Johnson asked, his normal bouncy tone absent. He, Jen, Marticus, Nicole, Hanson, Core, Barriss and Vadmare were all outside of the medical bay, Ramore had just gotten out of surgery and was now unconscious.

"It is not good," Vadmare replied. "One of his hearts was completely removed from his body and he loss a pint of blood, possibly two. His condition has been stabilized, but he will not be able to fight until he is fully healed, and it will take a month to clone him a new heart." Vadmare let out a small chuckle. "Most likely he will be more concerned about his inability to fight that the fact that he nearly died.

"Probably," Nicole remarked. "When will wake up?"

"We don't know," Hanson replied. "In the meantime we've set a course to regroup with Patterson's fleet. We sent her word before we jumped to maintain her current position. Thanks to the upgrades Core made to the engines, we should be there pretty soon." Hanson nodded at the Monitor, who returned the gesture.

"The Human Ramore served alongside," Marticus said, "What was his name, Aaron? He will want to know what fate has befallen his blood brother."

"They may already know what has happened," Barriss said "The death of a Jedi sends a ripple through the Force, and hundreds if not thousands are being killed," she said sadly. "I can only imagine what Aayla and Ahsoka are feeling right now."

"By the way," Nicole said. "What happened to that little girl you and Ramore rescued?"

"She's asleep," Barriss replied. "Poor thing was completely scared to death. She shook her head. "I don't know what I'm going to do with her, I seriously doubt I'm the best candidate for looking after her.

"Perhaps the Coltons would be willing to look after her," Core suggested. "Hormone scans of them indicate that they are 68.29% more emotionally happy and close than the average family. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that they are all SPARTANS, with the exception of Ahsoka."

"Oh boy," Johnson said. "Poor kid, her future was going just the way she wanted, found a nice place to live, was engaged to her prince charming, then her teacher goes bat-shit insane and starts a killing spree. She isn't going to take this well."

XXXXX

Just as Ahsoka was about to lift a fork-full of egg to her mouth, a sudden and sharp pain shot through her, causing her to drop the fork and clutched her head in pain. "Ahsoka?" Aaron asked, looking at his fiancée with a worried look on his face "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Ahsoka managed to say. She and the rest of Gray Team had been enjoying a late breakfast and talking about what the were going to do when this war ended, when this happened. Glancing across the table, she saw that Aayla was clutching her head as well. "Aayla what's happening?" Ahsoka asked weakly.

"I don't know," She said through gritted teeth. "I feel pain and suffering, I hear screaming." She paused for a second before adding "I feel death."

Before anyone could say anything, Admiral Paterson ran into the cafeteria, her face white. "Gray Team!" she shouted "Fleetmaster 'Katar's and Admiral Hanson's fleet just arrived, I need you to come with me.

"What?" Emily said, clearly confused "Why?"

"No time!" Patterson replied "Come on!" The various members of Gray Team glanced at each other for a second, before getting up and following Patterson out of the cafeteria. "I just got word," Patterson said, as they ran down the hallway, heading towards the hanger. "I can't believe that this is really happening, I could see the light at the end of the fucking tunnel."

"Admiral, what the Hell is going on?" James asked in a slightly frustrated voice.

"Vadmare can explain everything in much more detail than I can," Paterson said as they reached the hanger. "Their Phantom should've landed by now," she said as the entered the hanger.

Sure enough, a bright green Phantom was sitting in the hanger, its sides open. Vadmare was climbing out, closely followed by "Barriss?" Ahsoka said, still clutching her forehead "What are you doing here?" It was then that Ahsoka realized that Barriss was holding a sleeping Twi'lek youngling. "Who's that, what's going on?"

Barriss glanced at Vadmare before she began to speak. "Ahsoka," she said, sounding unsure on how to tell her friend "We've...been betrayed, the Chancellor has given the order for the clones to exterminate any and all Jedi. He's a Sith."

"WHAT?" shouted every last member of Gray Team, shock etched across their faces."

Barriss nodded. "I barley escaped from the Temple with Rumas," she said sadly, gesturing to the sleeping Twi'lek in her arms. "But there's something else. The clones that attacked the Temple...they...they were...their leader," Barriss stuttered, unsure on how to tell Gray Team the horrible truth.

"They were lead by Darth Vader," Vadmare said somberly "That is what Anakin Skywalker calls himself now." He looked at Ahsoka, with something that resembled sympathy in his eyes. "He has abandoned the Order for the teachings of the Sith," he said. "I am sorry," he said truthfully.

Ahsoka felt like her mind was an ice sculpture that had just been shattered. 'Anakin?' she thought weakly 'Sith? No,no,no,no, this can't be happening.'

"Ahsoka," Barriss said softly "I saw him with my own eyes."

"No," Ahsoka said faintly, tears beginning to form her eyes "Why would he do this? He's fought against the Sith for half of his life, why would he throw it all away? Why would he do such a thing?" Just when she thought she was about to burst into tears, Ahsoka felt a warm hand on her shoulder. Turning to face the origin, she saw Aaron looking at her, a comforting look on his face. Without speaking, Aaron took Ahsoka into his arms, who quickly returned the favor.

"I don't understand," Ahsoka said, her breathing shallow as she desperately tried to not cry.

"Shh," Aaron said softly "I know, I know." Aaron continued to hold Ahsoka, as she attempted to calm down, the occasional tear escaping her eyes. As her breathing level returned to normal, Aaron released Ahsoka, who still had a look of sadness on her face. "Feeling better?" he asked.

A weak smile made it's way across Ahsoka's face. "A bit," she replied.

"Aaron," Vadmare said, using his first name, instead of his last as he usually did.

Aaron turned to face Vadmare "Yes?" he asked.

"There is something that you should know as well," Vadmare said. "Your Blood-Brother, Ramore 'Altre, was badly wounded while attempting to hold off Vader." Aaron's eye's widened in shock, but Vadmare raised one of his hands. "Be at peace, his life is not in danger and will recover in due time. Before his operation however, he recorded this." Vadmare handed Aaron a small purple recorder. Aaron looked at it for a few seconds before pushing a button on it.

"Aaron," Ramore's voice said as the recording began to play. "As you most likely know by this point, I was grievously injured in combat and will most likely be bedridden for an extended period of time. I am proud that my blood was shed for a nobel cause, and if I should die, I will have no regrets. The doctors say that there is little chance of that happening, but I was never one for being ill-prepared. Also there is one other matter I wish to address before my surgery. As a SPARTAN, yes the Fleetmaster told me, you will be able you move much more swiftly on the battlefield. Therefore, I wish for you to take the item I gave to the Fleetmaster and keep it, you should be able to use it much more effectively now. Consider it my wedding present, and yes Aaron," Ramore's voice now sounded amused "I was aware for quite some time, even I wouldn't have crashed my fighter in order to save you. I mean no disrespect, but it would have more effective simply to strafe Ventress. I can not speak any longer, may your aim be swift and true."

Aaron chuckled as he handed the recorder back to Vadmare. "Crazy son of a bitch," he muttered.

"This is the item he wished for you to have," Vadmare said as he held out his other hand, with his palm open. One of Ramore's energy swords was lying there. Hesitantly, Aaron took the sword and activated it, looking at it disbelievingly.

"A Sangheili warrior giving his sword to another is not an idly made choice," Vadmare said. "Ramore displays a massive amount of trust and respect by giving you that weapon, I hope that you will take the time to learn how to use it properly." Aaron nodded dumbly as he deactivated the energy sword and attached it to his thigh."

Ahsoka walked next to Aaron and took his hand in her own, squeezing it gently. Aaron looked at Ahsoka and gave a faint smile, which was mirrored on Ahsoka's face.

While this was happening Aayla walked forward to Barriss, and looked at the sleeping Rumas. "How's she holding up?" Aayla asked.

"You mean after seeing nearly everyone she knew gunned down in front of her at the age of three?" Barriss asked, a slight amount of anger at Vader in her voice. "About as well as you would expect, poor thing cried herself to sleep. I don't know what I'm going to do, I don't know anything about taking care of children."

"I could watch her," Aayla offered "I've had some experience in dealing with children at the Temple."

"Oh thank you," Barriss said gratefully, as Aayla took Rumas into her arms. As she spoke, Rumas began to stir and stretch her arms.

"Wha-" she said, looking around confused "Where am I? Who are you?" she asked, looking at Aayla.

"I'm Aayla Secura, Rumas," Aayla said comfortably. "I'm going to be watching you. I'll make sure that you don't get hurt."

"Promise?" Rumas asked, looking up at Aayla, looking worried.

"I promise," Aayla said, a smile breaking across her face. Rumas snuggled close to Aayla, burring her face into her armor.

"Thank you," Rumas said, as she began to sob softly.

"There, there," Aayla said, as she hugged the small child tightly. "Don't be sad, you're safe now."

"So," Paterson said, as she looked at Vadmare, "What do now?"

"Before we can do anything," Vadmare said "We must acquire a firm grasp on the situation at hand. We don't know why the Chancellor chose now to reveal his position or if they plan to invade Allied Species territory."

"I have an idea," Emily said. Vadmare and Paterson looked at her.

"What did you have in mind?" Paterson asked.

XXXXX

Padmé clutched her arm as she looked at the Temple, smoke had been rising from it since last night. There was a knock at her apartment door, and she turned to see Anakin walk into the room. She nearly flew across the room and she wrapped her arms around Anakin.

"Oh thank goodness that you're ok," she said "They saying that there was an attack on the Temple, you can see the smoke from here. What's going on."

Anakin let out a sigh as he gently pushed his wife away. "There's been a rebellion," he said somberly "They Jedi have tried to seize power from the Chancellor. I saw Mace Windu try to kill him with my own eyes. The Chancellor is giving a speech about it right now"

Padmé's eyes widened in horror. "Oh no," she said "What about Obi-Wan? What about the Allied Species?" She paused for a second before adding "What about Ahsoka?"

Anakin did his best to stop a snarl from spreading across his face. "I don't know about Obi-Wan, he may be among the plot to take over the Republic, although I hope he isn't. The Allied Species don't know what's going on yet," he lied. "Hopefully they will understand that we did what we had to do."

"I'm scarred Anakin," Padmé said, clutching her now bulging belly.

"Don't be," Anakin said "The Chancellor has given me a mission, I'm to go to the Mustafar system, the last of the CIS leaders have gathered there. Soon this war will be over," he said, as he turned and walked out of the apartment. Padmé looked at the closed door, worry on her face.

"Don't worry mistress," said a copper gold droid, as it walked out of the corner "I am sure he is just under a good deal of stress."

"I know 3PO," Padmé said, as she walked to a table in the center of her apartment and sat at it, activating the holographic projector in the center, and a hologram of a demented Palpatine appeared.

"And although the assassination attempt by the Jedi has left me scared and mutilated, my resolve has never been stronger," he said powerfully. "To ensure the security and continued stability of life, the Republic will be reorganized, into the First Galactic Empire!" he roared. "S save and secure society."

Padmé deactivated the hologram with a look of disbelief on her face "Galactic Empire?" she muttered. Before she could continue her thoughts, a loud beeping noise was emitted from one of the counters in her apartment. Looking at the source, she saw that it was coming from the Battle-Net earpiece that the Allied Species had given to her.

Getting up and walking towards the counter, she picked up the earpiece and placed it in her ear. "Hello?" she said uncertainty.

"Padmé," came Emily's voice "Good, look I need to talk to you, have you seen Anakin lately, do you know where he is?"

"Yes he just left," Padmé replied.

"Do you know where he is going?" Emily asked.

"Why do you need to know?" Padmé asked hesitantly.

Emily took a deep breath before replying. "Padmé," he said "Chancellor Palpatine is a Sith Lord, and Anakin has turned to the Dark Side and betrayed the Jedi. From what I've heard they're taking steps to wipe out the Order."

"I don't believe you," Padmé said, almost instantly. "Anakin a Sith? That's insane."

"Padmé, Barriss Offee saw him leading the assault on the Temple with her own eyes," Emily said sternly.

"It can't be Anakin," Padmé said defensevly "He would never do anything like..."

"Padmé," a voice said softly over the Battle-Net.

Padmé froze. "Ahsoka," she whispered.

"Padmé, I know that this is tough for you," Ahsoka said gently "It's tough for me too, but I believe Barriss, Anakin has betrayed us all. You need to tell us what you know so that we can stop this before it grows out of control." Padmé did not speak, her inner-turmoil was devastating. She trusted Anakin, but Ahsoka knew and trusted Anakin almost as much as she did. If she had that Anakin had turned, then the only logical conclusion that she could come to, was that he had actually turned the Dark Side.

"How could this happen," Padmé muttered as tears began to trail down her face.

"Padmé," Ahsoka said "We need you to tell us everything that you know."

Padmé let out a quite sob as she dried her eyes. "All right," she said weakly.

Author's Note: The pieces are being set for the final confrontation. Also a fan of mine, ShinigamiMaster has requested permission to write his own version of this story, and I gave it to him, check it out when you have the time.


	51. The Board is Set

Chapter 51

The Board is Set

Author's Note: About Mass Effect New Origins, I have not abandoned it, I merely have been neglecting it due to the fact that I really want to finish this story, what with the end drawing so near. To be honest, that story makes me angry sometimes. In my honest opinion, I think Fighting for a Purpose is a much better story, yet New Origins at one point had nearly as much reviews as Fighting for a Purpose, yet only half of the chapters, to be blunt I'm frustrated that this fic is being neglected, what with all of the work I've put into it. But enough of my complaining, you want the chapter, here you go.

"We need to think our next move through carefully," Paterson said. She, Vadmare, Hanson and Thel where all standing on the bridge of the _Twilight_, where they were debating on how to respond to the actions of the Republic, or rather, the actions of the Empire.

"From what I have heard of the Sith," Vadmare said "They are prone to conquer. While Palpatine may have said he only wished to rule this galaxy, we can hardly accept his words as the truth, he has lied to the people of this galaxy for decades."

"I agree," Hanson said. "Sooner or later, once the Jedi are gone or maybe even before that, Palpatine will most likely be gunning for us."

"What do you propose Admiral?" Thel asked "A full scale invasion of Coruscant? The destruction of the factories that create the clone armies of the Republic?"

"I have an idea that just might work," Vadmare said. Everyone looked at him. "From what I have learned of the clones from Aayla, they are trained from birth to be loyal to the Republic, to follow the orders of it's leaders without question. Most likely this is the reason that the clones betrayed the Jedi in the first place."

"Where are you going with this Fleetmaster?" Thel asked curiously.

"If we can eliminate Palpatine and Vader, and expose them to the Senate for who they truly are, we may be able to stop them now before they have a chance to invade us." Vadmare looked at Thel, "We learned from Padmé that Vader is traveling to Mustafar in order to eliminate the CIS leaders. Most likely now that he has formed the Empire, Palpatine no longer needs them. With any luck, Palpatine will travel to Mustafar to check on Vader's progress, and we may be able to eliminate both of them."

"There are risks in your plan Vadmare," Thel said "But I fail to think of anything that is more structurally sound. Do you two?" he asked, looking at Paterson and Hanson. They both shook their heads. "Very well," Thel said "As you all know, as soon as we were able to, we sent out messages to all Allied Species forces in this galaxy to abort their current missions, and to save any nearby Jedi. Those within a reasonable range were ordered to move to this location, while those who were too far away were ordered to fall back to the Milky Way. Within 12 hours, we will launch an invasion of Mustafar."

"Councilor," Hanson said, looking at Thel. "How many Jedi do you believe will survive this massacre?"

"You mean what do I estimate?" Thel said. "From what I have heard there were 10,000 Jedi in the Order. If I was to make a guess, I would say...500, at the very most."

"That bugs me," Paterson said. "There were 10,000 Jedi at the beginning of this war, why are there only two Sith?"

"The Sith believe that numbers are a weakness," Vadmare replied "They believe that with only two, the can truly wield the power of the Dark Side."

"Somewhere Charles Darwin is crying his eyes out," Hanson muttered.

XXXXX

"Exactly how big of a deal is it that Ramore gave you his energy sword," Ahsoka asked, as she and Aaron sat on the bed in Ahsoka's room.

"Pretty big," Aaron said as she looked at the inactive blade in his hand. "Even among themselves, Sangheili rarely give their swords to another, but then again most Sangheili only have one sword, while Ramore had two.

"You know," Ahsoka said, holding up her light saber. "When we get some spare time, I could teach you had to use that. It might take some time, but you'll probably be able to take on a Jedi if you train with that long enough, mostly thanks to your SPARTAN genes.

"And how long would that take?" Aaron asked. "A year? Two years? Three?"

"Maybe," Ahsoka replied. "Still the end result would be worth it."

"Yeah," Aaron said absentmindedly. "Until we get the time to do that, I'll just have to adapt knife wielding techniques to it. It's a technique they teach you at Boot Camp, but it's better than nothing." He glanced at Ahsoka, who was staring at the wall ahead of them a little too hard.

"How are you holding up?" Aaron asked. He didn't need to tell Ahsoka what he was talking about, she already knew.

"Aaron, this whole thing is overwhelming," Ahsoka said sadly. "I've known Anakin for years, he's been a little brash but he's never shown any signs of becoming a Sith."

"What about when he hit you," Aaron asked, barley keeping the anger out of his voice as he gently stroked the bruise on Ahsoka's face.

Ahsoka froze. "I didn't even think about it that way," she said. "Damn it, I could've seen this coming."

"Don't even think about blaming yourself about this," Aaron said in a stern voice. "It caught us all off guard, I didn't see it coming Vadmare didn't see it coming, even Obi-Wan didn't see it coming, and he was like a brother to Anakin."

"I know," Ahsoka said somberly. "You know that there's a lot of talk that Gray Team is going to be sent to take down Anakin."

"You know," Aaron said "If you want to you can probably be pulled off of the mission. I doubt that anyone will blame you, I know I certainly won't."

Ahsoka gave a weak smile. "Aaron, I know that your heart is in the right place, but this isn't something I can run away from." Aaron looked puzzled as Ahsoka continued to speak. "If Anakin really has turned to the Dark Side, I need to face it head on and I need to accept one fact. Anakin Skywalker, the man you trained me, he's gone and Darth Vader is all that's left of him."

"Your telling me that once someone embraces the Dark Side they're lost to it forever?" Aaron asked.

"Not necessarily," Ahsoka said. "There have been several Sith that abandoned the ways of the Dark Side and became Jedi, but they all were remorseful about the horrible deeds they had committed, and even then they preformed penance for what they did. Aaron, Vader led an assault on the Jedi Temple and probably slaughtered everyone there, including the children. I can not think of another Sith, with the exception of Palpatine, that has committed that much evil, let alone in one day. I seriously doubt Vader has any intentions of asking for forgiveness."

"Not to mention even if he did, and that's a big if, I doubt many people will be willing to give it to him," Aaron said. For Ahsoka's sake he didn't add "Myself included". "But Ahsoka," Aaron said "Are you sure, if you go on the mission, you could end being the one that...the one that makes the finishing blow. Are you sure that you can handle that?"

"I don't know," Ahsoka answered truthfully. "I know for a fact that it'll be hard and it might tear me apart, but I can't back down."

"Is there anything I can do to make this easier for you?" Aaron asked. "Besides backing you up on the mission, that's already a given.

Ahsoka looked at Aaron, uncertainty in her eyes. "Aaron," she said slowly "After all of this is over...can we get married?"

Aaron smiled as he put an arm around Ahsoka's waist. "Of course," he said, as he leaned in and kissed Ahsoka.

XXXXX

Vader did not say a word as he deactivated his light saber. He was standing in the CIS command room on Mustafar, surrounded by the dead leaders of the CIS. The fools had actually welcomed him with open arms, thinking that he was an embassy of peace, they were sadly mistaken. Under Sidious' orders, he had used the command terminals sent out an override code that would deactivate all CIS droids in the galaxy. Sidious had several good reasons for doing this, mainly to unite the galaxy under one banner, and to increase public his opinion, considering the fact he would tell the general public that the CIS had fallen while the clones were under his command.

He had to give the CIS credit, Mustafar was an excellent place to hide. Just one month ago, there had been a major battle between the CIS and the Allied Species here. The Allied Species had succeeded in driving the CIS off, they had no reason to suspect that the CIS were hiding here. It had been extremely bloody, with both sides sustain heavy casualties, both in orbit and on the ground. Apparently it had also been very vicious, there had even been a UNSC frigate that only had one half left. The destroyed Allied Species ships had been rather close to the planet, but it wasn't in any danger of crashing onto the planet's surface unless some sort of external force was applied.

Vader produced a holographic projector from within his robes and activated it. "Master," he said as a hologram of Sidious appeared. "It has been done, the CIS leaders are dead, and their armies deactivated."

"Good," Sidious said. "Very good Vader. I have left Coruscant, it is too risky there. Should the Allied Species declare themselves my enemy, they could attack the planet and finish the job that the Extremists started. We will be using Mustafar as a base of operations until further notice. I will be arriving with my fleet shortly, afterwards we will begin to fortify the planet."

"Fortify it my lord?"

"Yes Vader," Sidious said, a bit of impatience in his voice. "If the Allied Species should declare themselves our enemy and find us here, we must be prepared to fight. Most likely they already have, as I have received several reports of them helping Jedi escape. For all intents and purposes, they are our enemy."

Vader bowed his head. "Of course my lord," he said as he deactivated the projector.

XXXXX

"Mistress," C-3P0 said as Padmé stepped onto her personal skiff "Are you that this is wise? Miss Colton, and Tano seemed very adamant that Master Skywalker is very dangerous right now To go to see him would be extremely dangerous, with a 97% chance of you being harmed."

"I know Threepio," Padmé sadly as she climbed onto the skiff. "But if it's really true, if Anakin really has become a Sith, I need to see it with my own eyes."

"Mistress, this is insanity," C-3PO said in an exasperated voice.

R2 rolled past C-3PO, letting out a series of beeps as he did so. "Oh you would agree with here," he snapped at the astrodroid, as R2 rolled onto the skiff. "Oh, we're going to die," C-3PO said, as he walked onto the skiff, the door closing behind him.

XXXXX

"This is all of the Council that's left?" Obi-Wan asked. He was standing on the bridge of the _Glorious Victory_ along with Shaak Ti, Plo Koon, Yoda, Thel, and Vadmare, Hanson and Paterson had returned to their ships. 12 hours had passed since the Allied Species had learned of Vader's mission and massive amount of Allied Species ships had arrived, along with the Jedi they had rescued.

"I am afraid so," Thel said "We have received no word of any other Councilors being evacuated by Allied Species, we must assume the worst."

"How did this happen?" Shaak Ti asked, clearly in shock.

"The Chancellor had a plan, years in the making," Vadmare said bitterly. "From what I can tell, he controlled both the Republic and the CIS for the entire war, the whole point of which was to leave control of this galaxy in his hand. If the CIS won the war, he would rule this galaxy as the mysterious figure that led the CIS and conquered the Republic. If the Republic won, he would be hailed as the man who held off the conquering CIS," he glanced at the Jedi "And stopped the Jedi rebellion. Either way, he paved the war so that no matter what the outcome was, he won. Then there is also the fact that he managed to convert Vader to his side." Vadmare glanced at Obi-Wan at this point. His head was lowered, but he made no move to speak. "Clever, for an honor-less coward that is."

"Destroy the Sith, we must," Yoda said simply.

"I agree," Thel said. "We may be able to undo the damage that he has done, but we must act quickly."

"What do you propose?" Plo asked.

"We learned from Padmé Amidala that Darth Vader was sent on a mission to Mustafar, and with any luck his master will be there as well," Thel said. "If we launch a full scale invasion, we should be able to kill both of them."

"If Palpatine really is on Mustafar," Shaak Ti said "Then it won't be lightly guarded, most likely he will have turned it into a fortress, you may not be able to succeed if you attack it."

"Vadmare," Thel said, looking at the Fleetmaster "How many ships do we currently have, and how many Jedi are among the fleet?"

"At the last count, we had 268 ships, and a little over 50 Jedi," Vadmare replied. "This may be a risky move," he said, facing Shaak Ti "But if we do not make it, Palpatine may be forever out of our reach. Shaak Ti looked disapproving, but said nothing.

"Very well, the time for action is now," Thel said, as he raised his hand to his com unit. "This is Councilor Thel 'Vadam to all Allied Species ships, we are now departing for Mustafar. The ships under the command of Admiral Hanson and Fleetmaster 'Katar will depart first due the Forerunner upgrades that they received, and all over ships will follow through the wake that they left."

Thel paused before continuing. "Some of you may have seen the devastation the Empire inflicted on the Jedi Order and may be hungry for revenge, yet disappointed that there are only two Sith to kill. I find myself reminded of a similar situation in Human history and I feel compelled to use a similar quote to the one said at the time. A gravity hammer was taken to the Jedi, and now we are taking a needle to the Sith. But we will drive this needle directly into their heart."

Author's Note: The next chapter will mark the beginning of the final battle. In other words, this fic is now 130k words long, I wonder how far I can push it? Tell me what you think and please be patient for the next chapter.


	52. The Beginning of the End

Chapter 52

The Beginning of the End

Author's Note: I want to say this, this chapter will not cover all of the main characters during this battle, it will take awhile. All main characters will show up at one point over the next couple of chapters, just be patient.

Vader stood on a cliff overlooking a flowing river of lava that was flowing beneath the harvesting facility that the CIS had used as a base. Sidious had arrived hours ago and since then had begun to set up all sorts of defenses on the planet, AA guns, bunkers, mounted turrets, among the fortifications. There was also the 300 ship Imperial fleet in orbit above the planet, standing guard.

There was a beep from within his robes, and Vader reached into them and took out his holographic projector, activating it. "Lord Vader," a clone said as the hologram activated "A small skiff has entered the system, the passenger requesting to see you. What should we do?"

'Padmé,' Vader thought. "That skiff is not to be fired upon," Vader commanded. "Transmit the coordinates of the platform that I landed on to it, and tell it to land there."

"Yes my lord," the clone said, as the projector was deactivated.

Anakin looked at the platform where he had landed his fighter and saw the skiff land. He began to walk towards the platform, and saw the door of the skiff open. As Vader reached the platform, he saw Padmé exit the skiff and step onto the platform. The moment she saw him, Padmé ran across the landing pad and threw herself into Vader's open arms.

"What are you doing here?" Vader asked, a small smile on his face. "Can't you see the fleet?"

"I had to see you," Padmé replied. "I was so worried. Emily Colton, she told me...terrible things."

The smile slid off of Vader's face. "What did she tell you?" Vader asked coldly.

"That, that you had turned to the Dark Side," she said, stuttering slightly. "That you lead the assault of the Jedi Temple, that you killed the children there," she said, her voice cracking slightly. "Ahsoka even told me that it was the truth."

"The Allied Species are trying to fill your heads with lies," Vader said "They're trying to turn you against the Chancellor and the Republic. Ramore 'Altre stood against me, they want the downfall of the Republic."

"Anakin please," Padmé said, she wasn't asking anymore, she was begging. "Don't do this, I don't want any of this, I just want your love."

"That won't be enough Padmé," Vader said in an chilling voice. "Love can't save you, but my new powers can." A slightly insane smile spread across his face. "I am becoming more powerful than any Jedi ever dreamed of becoming. I'm doing this to protect you Padmé, I won't lose you like I lost my mother."

"Anakin please don't," Padmé said desperately. "I'm begging you don't do this. Please, leave all of this behind, we can go far away, away from all of this."

"Don't you understand?" Vader said, clearly not listening to a word that his wife has said. "We don't need to hide anymore. The Republic is at peace, I can kill the Chancellor, we can rule the galaxy together."

Padmé took a step back, disbelief on her face. "I don't believe it," she said softly "Ahsoka was telling me the truth. You're not the same anymore."

A look of anger crossed Vader's face. "I don't want to hear about her anymore," he said dangerously. "The Jedi betrayed me, the Allied Species betrayed me, don't you betray me too."

"What happened to you?" Padmé asked, her voice breaking, tears starting to form in her eyes. "Anakin what have you become? You're going down a path I can't follow."

"Because of Ahsoka?" Vader asked coldly.

"Because of what you've become, please leave it all behind, I love you, please don't do this," Padmé begged.

Vader was about to reply when his holographic projector began to beep again. "What!" he snapped, looking at the hologram of the clone.

"My lord!" the clone shouted in a panicky voice "It's the Allied Species, they're attacking us in full force. They're already deploying infantry to the planet's surface using their HEV pods. We must contact-GAH" there was the sound of a large explosion and the hologram flicked off. As it did so, HEV pods slammed into the ground in the distance, some rather their current position.

XXXXX

Aaron let out a sigh as the door to his HEV pod opened. Much to his surprise, Gray Team, along with the 51 SPARTAN IVs that they had, had been scattered among the planet, with the hope of maximizing damage and increase their chances of finding Vader and Palpatine. In addition to them, thousands of Allied Species soldiers had been deployed via HEV pod to weaken the Imperial defenses for the main invasion force. "Remember," Emily's voice said over the Battle-Net "Vader and Palpatine are our top priority targets, but you are free to eliminate any high value target you encounter. Let's make this fast and let's make it hard."

"Amen," Aaron muttered as he unholstered his sniper rifle and climbed out of the pod. He noticed what looked like some sort of refinery in the distance and began to dash towards it, activated his active camouflage as he did. Thanks to his new SPARTAN genes, it didn't take very long for him to get there, no more than three minutes, but then again it hadn't been that far away to begin with.

"YOU BROUGHT THEM HERE!" a voice roared, coming from the direction of the refinery.

"I know that voice," Aaron muttered, lighting his hand to his com unit. "Everyone I have a positive ID on Vader's location, he's at what looks like form sort of lava refinery not too far from where I landed."

"Copy that," Emily said "We're converting to your position, we should all be there in around fifteen minutes. Keep an eye on Vader, and don't engage him if you can help it."

"Got it," Aaron said, as he crept up to the edge of a cliff that gave him a good view of the refinery. "Whoa," he said, as he reached the top of the cliff and saw that there was a flowing river of lava below him. "How the Hell did life develop on a planet like this?" he muttered as he raised his sniper rifle and looked down the scope. On a landing pad not too far away, Aaron clearly saw Vader and..." Padmé?" Aaron said in a stunned voice. "What's she doing here?"

"YOU BROUGHT THEM HERE TO KILL ME!" Vader bellowed at Padmé, as he raised his right arm, making a clenching motion. The second he did this, Padmé began to clutch at her throat, she couldn't breath.

'What the fuck is he doing?" Aaron snarled under his breath, as he lined up a shot with Vader's head and his finger tightened on the trigger of his rifle, but he did not take the shot. Emily had told him not to engage Vader if he could avoid it, and he knew from past experiences with Ventress that if he took the shot, it would do nothing but give away his position.

'That doesn't make the idea of Vader's head exploding any less appealing though' Aaron thought angrily, his hand tensing on the trigger. 'Mom told me about Padmé and him, how the fuck can this bastard strangle his own wife?' It was then that Aaron noticed something about Padmé. Her belly was bulging. 'She's pregnant,' Aaron thought softly. 'Wait,' he thought, as his mind put two and two together. 'Padmé is pregnant...AND THAT BASTARD IS STRANGLING HER?'

Aaron threw logic to the wind as his finger slammed down on the trigger of his sniper rifle, his active camouflage faltering. Almost mechanically, Vader released Padmé, who fell to the ground, and ignited his light saber, blocking Aaron's bullet. 'Fucking figures,' Aaron thought, not surprised that the bullet had been blocked. Aaron didn't bother firing again, it would be a waste of ammunition, the point of him firing in the first place was to get Vader to release Padmé.

"YOU!" Vader roared at Aaron, glaring at the now revealed sniper. "You people turned her against me!"

"We told here the truth!" Aaron shouted at Vader. "It's not our fault she finds children slaughtering Sith to be bad husbands! You've got a lot of balls to act like you didn't see this coming, what the Hell did you expect, why did you even do this in the first place?" Vader didn't know it but Aaron was actually stalling for time, every second he kept the Sith talking was a second closer the rest of Gray Team got to his position.

"She dies!" Vader roared, pointing at Padmé. "I see it every night, the Force shows it to me, she dies in childbirth. The Jedi are shrouded in lies and treason, they can not save her, only Sidious can. He opened my eyes, he showed me the Jedi for who the really are."

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" Aaron shouted. "You turned your back on everyone and everything you ever fought for!"

"Don't lecture me Colton!" Vader shouted.

"No I think I will!" Aaron retaliated. "Because you've given me a whole list of reasons to be pissed off at you! You struck my wife to be across the face for a piss-poor reason, you slaughter an entire temple full of children, you ripped out the heart of my best friend when he stood in your way, you strangled your own PREGNANT wife, and to cap it all off, YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO ACT LIKE IT'S JUSTIFIED!"

"You fail to see through the shroud of lies the Jedi have cast over her head, along with the rest of the Allied Species!" Vader said in a zealotic voice. "I have brought peace, freedom, and justice to my new empire."

"Your new empire," Aaron repeated. "Is that what this has become? Nothing more than an insane desire for power?"

"Don't make me kill you Colton," Vader said in a dangerous voice. For a split second, Aaron remembered fighting Ventress, and he barely repressed a shiver of fear, then the moment had passed.

'It doesn't look like he'll be talking for much longer,' Aaron thought. 'If I'm going to fight him I'm going to have to think out of the box if I want to stay alive, let alone beat him. Let me think,' he thought, glancing at the equipment he had. "I've got a sniper rifle, a submachine-gun, an energy sword and two plasma grenades. How can I kill him with what I've got?' "Sorry Vader," Aaron said out loud, as several half baked plans began to form in his head. "You're everything I despise. You're a murdering, genocidal monster."

"If you're not with me," Vader said slowly "Then you're my enemy." As he spoke, he raised his light saber, ready for a fight. With inhuman strength, Vader propelled himself forward with the Force, towards where Aaron was standing. Moving quickly, Aaron crouched down and neatly slid to the bottom of the hill, reaching the bottom as Vader landed.

'All right,' Aaron thought, as he dropped his sniper rifle and drew his SMG. Vader began to charge towards Aaron, and was halfway down when Aaron opened fire at him. Vader stopped as he began to wildly swing his light saber, deflecting Aaron's bullets with ease. 'Let's try this!,' Aaron thought, as he took one of his plasma grenades, activated it, and threw it. It landed right where Aaron had aimed, which wasn't Vader, but the ground around Vader's feet. Vader saw the glowing ball, and threw himself out of the way at just the right time, but he was knocked on his back by the shockwave.

Aaron quickly aimed his SMG at Vader and fired, but the Sith quickly kicked the ground, propelling him further down the hill and causing the bullets to harmlessly hit dirt. "Damn it,' Aaron thought as he ejected his empty magazine and replaced it with a fresh one. "For a second I thought I had him."

Vader quickly got to his feet, and threw his light saber at Aaron, who dived out of the way of the spinning blade. "Wait a second," Aaron muttered as the light saber flew back to Vader's hand. "If I can get him to do that again..." Aaron raised his SMG and sprayed more bullets at Vader, who managed to block them with ease as Aaron took the time that Vader was occupied to put more distance in-between them by gradually stepping back. "One more time!" he grunted as he threw his other plasma grenade at Vader. Once again the grenade landed by Vader's feet, but this time Vader was quicker to throw himself out of the way, and he landed on his feet.

Vader was actually smiling as Aaron fired at him with his SMG, only to have his bullets blocked again. "Why do you even bother?" Vader gloated, his anger at Aaron clearly gone. "You can't even hope to win."

'If I can get him to throw his light saber again,' Aaron through, as he discarded his SMG's empty clip and loaded his last one 'I might be able to get him. But I do I get him to-' a thought struck Aaron as he remembered something Ahsoka had told him about Vader when he was still Anakin, causing an idea to form. 'If this doesn't work,' Aaron thought 'It sure as Hell will kill me.'

"I'm still fighting you because I have forgotten what it's like to have a mother!" Aaron yelled.

Vader became as stiff as a board, his face slightly white. "What did you say?" he whispered.

'Oh I am so going to die,' Aaron thought miserably. "Ahsoka told me what happened with the Sand People," Aaron said "I know all about it."

"Shut up," Vader said softly.

"She told me about how she was dehydrated, malnourished and died in your arms," Aaron continued, a sense of dread filling him.

"Shut up," Vader said, this time more firmly.

"I can't help but wonder what she would say if she could see you right now," Aaron said in a taunting voice. "I imagine she would be very disappointed in her little Ani."

"SHUT UP!" Vader roared, as he threw his light saber as Aaron as hard as he could. Aaron was shocked at how fast Vader had thrown the weapon and barley ducked in time, the light saber cutting his SMG in half as he did.

'I've got one chance,' Aaron thought, as he dropped to one knee and grabbed his sniper rifle, lining up a shot. He fired a shot had Vader barley dodged by strafing to the side with the Force. Aaron fired a second shot that managed to burry itself in Vader's mechanical arm, causing Vader to stumble back as sparks flew from it. Aaron was about to line up a shot with Vader's heart, when he heard a humming voice from behind him. There was a brief fraction of a second, when Aaron realized what was going to happen before it actually did. Vader's light saber came flying back and sliced Aaron's rifle in half...and slashed him across the face.

Aaron let out a roar of agony as his visor shattered, and the blade flew back to Vader's hand. Aaron quickly discarded his damaged helmet and stood up, panting and looking at Vader. The light saber had created a slash that started above Aaron's left eye, and traveled diagonally down, to bellow his right eye. 'Damn it,' Aaron thought 'It didn't work.'

"You are not leaving this planet alive Colton," Vader said in a dangerous voice.

"You know," Aaron muttered to himself, as he activated Ramore's energy sword, it being the only weapon he had left. "If lived past this day, this slash would probably leave a scar. Wonder what Ahsoka would think about it." He gave a dry chuckle. "I'm about to die and I'm wondering if Ahsoka has a thing for guys with scars. Aw well, maybe I'm so scarred I can't think straight."

Vader extended his left hand, and Aaron felt like a sledgehammer had just hit him in the stomach as he was forced onto his back, causing him to drop the energy sword. "DIE!" Vader roared, as he charged forward, light saber at the ready. Aaron felt panic flow threw him as he saw the bright blue of Vader's light saber heading for his face. Instinctively he put his arms in the way, but he knew it would do him no good.

But just when he thought he was about to die, there was a flash of green and another light saber stopped Vader's in it's path. The Sith had just enough time to look up before a booted foot kicked him squarely in the face, causing him to stumble backwards. Vader rubbed his nose as he looked at his attacker. "Ahsoka," Aaron managed to croak out, as the Trogrutan woman stood between him and Vader.

"Tano," Vader said in a stony voice.

"Vader," Ahsoka replied, her face etched with cold fury. "Get the Hell away from my future husband."

Author's Note: I personally think that that came out very well, the fight between Aaron and Vader I mean. I would think that Aaron would be smart enough to realize that when you fight a Sith and you are not a Jedi or a SPARTAN IV or the Arbiter, you need to think outside the box and attack them indirectly. Well be sure to tell me what you think.


	53. Confrontations

Chapter 53

Confrontations

Author's Note: I think I'll respond to a couple of reviews, yeah Ahsoka saved Aaron again, but with a couple in the middle of a war, you would think that this would happen from time to time. Also thanks for liking the fight. Also STOP ASKING ABOUT AND FOR CHEIF! IF I HAVEN'T TOLD YOU IF HE WAS COMING IN 53 CHAPTERS, WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I WOULD NOW! Sorry about that enjoy the chapter. Also thanks for breaking the 500 review milestone.

Ahsoka's grip tightened on her light saber as she glared at Vader, cold fury in her eyes. She couldn't help but feel that this was different from when Ventress had stabbed Aaron. She had felt boiling rage at that point, but now she felt cold fury, possiblely because Aaron wasn't critically wounded.

"Aaron," she said softly, not taking her eyes off of Vader. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Aaron said, getting to his feet and picking up Ramore's energy sword. "It's just a scratch," he said, rubbing the slash on his face. Ahsoka resisted the urge to grit her teeth in anger as she saw the mark out of the corner of her eyes.

There was a loud roar, and all three of the combats looked up. A massive amount of drop ships were flying towards the planet's surface, the second wave of the invasion had been launched. Unfortunately, a volley of Imperial AA fire was launched in their direction, and several dropships were hit. Some of them exploded, while others began to spiral towards the ground, including a Pelican spiraling directly towards where they were standing.

"AHSOKA GET BACK!" Aaron shouted. Ahsoka didn't need to be told twice, as she threw herself out of the way, just in time to avoid the Pelican slamming into the ground, creating screen of smoke and dust separating Ahsoka and Aaron from Vader.

"Alright," Ahsoka said, looking at Aaron. "Aaron you need to get out of here, Vader is more than you can handle."

"And leave you alone with that crazy son of a bitch?" Aaron asked "I don't think so."

"Aaron please," Ahsoka said, a pleading tone in her voice. "I can't stand to see you get hurt, please get out of here."

"You think I like seeing you getting hurt?" Aaron asked. "When I saw Ventress torturing you I thought someone was twisting a knife in my heart. I'm not leaving you to fight this shadow of a Human being by yourself, we're going to do it together."

"And people say I'm the stubborn one," Ahsoka said, but there was a small smile on her face. "All right, but let me take most of the heat, I've got more experience with sword techniques, I can block him better than you. One more thing," she said. She leaned in and lightly kissed Aaron on the lips. "Just in case," she said softly.

"Right," Aaron said, his face turning slightly red. "Hold on a second," he said, looking at the wreckage of the Pelican. Aaron walked forward to the wreckage, a good deal of it had been propelled outward, bodies included. Aaron sighed as he kneeled by the body of a Marine whose face had been half burned off. Aaron closed the Marine's eyes and clasped his hands over his chest. As Aaron was doing this, he noticed the Marine's weapon, a Spartan Laser. "Rest in piece," Aaron said, as he deactivated Ramore's energy sword and placed it on his hip, before taking the Spartan Laser. "Wonder if a light saber can block this?" he muttered, as he placed his hands around the grip and trigger of the weapon.

"Aaron," Ahsoka said, walking forward and standing next to him. "Get ready, the smoke screen is fading." Aaron looked forward, and sure enough the screen was thinning, revealing Vader, holding his light saber with an angry look on his face. "Let's do this," Ahsoka said determinedly, Aaron nodded as Vader let out a roar and charged at them.

XXXXX

"Are you sure this is a strategically sound move?" Shaak Ti asked. She was standing in the passenger section of a Phantom, which was heading for the surface of Mustafar. Thel and the rest of the survivors of the Jedi Council were also present in the Phantom.

"The location we are heading to is the center hub for communications on the planet," Thel said. "Most likely it is the main Empire HQ, if we destroy it their chain of command should be crippled, throwing their forces into a state of disarray."

"It isn't like we have a better plan," Obi-Wan said, looking at the other Jedi.

"We are landing," Thel said, as the Phantom began to level out. The side doors opened, and Thel and the Jedi leapt out, light sabers and Thel's energy sword alight. "Very well," Thel said, looking at the large metal building in front of him. "Let us make this quick, the faster we destroy this, we faster we can-" but Thel was cut off as a bright red light saber that flew over his head, heading straight towards the Phantom. The light saber sliced through the center of the Phantom, causing the dropship to explode in a blaze of purple fire.

"Palpatine," Shaak Ti said, as the light saber flew back to the hand of the Sith Lord, who was walking forward, his long black robes flowing in the wind.

"Please," Sidious said "Call me Darth Sidious."

"Sidious," Obi-Wan said angrily "You have much to answer for. Thousands of Jedi are dead because of you actions."

"Master Kenobi" Sidious said "I must ask you this. Did I commit a horrible crime, or did I perform a public service?"

"What madness is this?" Plo Koon said in a disbelieving voice.

"You Jedi," Sidious said, in the same tone that suggest he had found something unpleasant on the heel of his shoe. "Are an order of arrogant, dogmatic, stuck up and self absorbed fools. You think yourselves to be all knowing, peaceful and well intentioned, where as nothing could be farther from the truth."

"Referring to what, are you?" Yoda asked warily.

"For starters, there is the expulsion of Ahsoka Tano," Sidious said.

"Ahsoka Tano broke the Jedi code by forming an attachment with an Allied Species soldier," Shaak Ti said hotly "Attachments lead to the Dark Side, we had every right to do that."

"Did you?" Sidious said sharply. "You are all so narrow minded, love does not lead to the Dark Side. Did you see a woman that was married to Dooku? Did you see a man that was married to Ventress? Do you a spouse waiting at home for me with a hot meal, no you don't," he said nastily.

"That is a superstition, so old and so widely believed by so many it makes me sick, you have never experienced the Dark Side, do not pretend to understand it. Your Code, designed to prevent the Dark Side from tempting you, is the high point of your ignorance. Your code forbids the expression of emotion, the very thing that defines a man for who he is, for better or worse. Simple emotion is not enough to lead to the Dark Side, but you Jedi believe that you are so special, so above ordinary people, that you believe a special set of rules apply to you, when in reality you are no different from a commoner."

A Force sensitive that experiences frustration will not turn to the Dark Side, because an ordinary man the experiences it will not go on a killing spree, it simply does not work that way. You cut off these basic parts of yourself, these basic rights, out of paranoia and for the illusion of safety from the Dark Side, where in reality, if the Code did not exist 1% of the Jedi would turn to the Dark Side, at the very most. Ahsoka Tano is currently in no position to turn the Dark Side, nor has she ever been, in fact the second I heard about what she did at Halo, I knew that she would never turn. It took years of Anakin experiencing mental and emotional stress, a good deal of which was caused by him being forced to hide his marriage, for him to turn to the Dark Side."

"He was married?" Plo Koon said in a shocked voice.

"Yes," Sidious said. "He was plagued with dreams of his wife dying, yet he could not turn to you, out of fear of the repercussions that would follow. He took a large risk and told Master Yoda about his dreams, didn't he Yoda?" he asked, looking at the Jedi Grandmaster, who was staring at the ground sadly. "He told you about his wife dying, and what did you tell him? You told him to be GLAD that she would die. Any normal person in his situation would have been driven mad a long time ago, but it drove Anakin to the Dark Side." A smirk grew across Sidious' face "You could have prevented Anakin's betrayal if you had just been a little more open minded, if you had not expelled his apprentice, and perhaps if you realized that your little policy of not showing emotion, will cause it all to bottle up until it destroys you."

"You talk too much," Thel said angrily, as he stepped forward, energy sword in hand.

"Councilor 'Vadam," Sidious said "The only person here I truly respect. I must ask you, why are you here?"

"Is it not obvious?" Thel growled angrily "I am here to rid the universe of you and your disgraceful Empire."

"Yes, of course you are," Sidious said coolly "But why are you here with the Jedi, don't tell me that you helped them did you? My, my Councilor, I had heard rumors that Allied Species soldiers were helping Jedi escaped, but I did not know that the order came from you. I must ask you this, what have the Jedi done to deserve your help?"

"What do you mean?" Thel asked uncertainty in his voice.

"When the Extremists attacked Coruscant, the Jedi attempted to arrest your soldiers," Sidious replied in a relatively calm and level voice. "When you asked for assistance in fighting the Extremists, and by extension destroying Halo and the Flood, the Jedi refused to help you. When you helped repel the CIS invasion of Coruscant, did they thank you, no they did not. Ever since you joined this war, the Jedi have done nothing but criticize you for the tactics that you used against the CIS, despite the fact that countless lives were saved by your deeds. Who knows how many of your soldiers have perished fighting the CIS and my Empire, and the Jedi do not care, they view them has numbers on a piece of paper. You sent your men to die for nothing Councilor; every soldier that died protecting the Jedi died a pointless death."

"I have a proposal for you Councilor, withdraw your forces and return to your territory. I will not persecute you, I will make no move to conquer the Allied Species. Simply turn over all Jedi that you have rescued, and the Allied Species and the Empire will rule side by side."

Thel was silent as he stared at Sidious, it was impossible to tell what he was feeling by looking at him, to tell if he was at a lost for words for was merely thinking. "Aren't you going to say anything?" Shaak Ti half shouted.

"What do you want me to say?" Thel said quietly. "That he is wrong? Much of what he had said has a ring of truth to it. You Jedi have done nothing but condemn us since we entered this war with a handful of exceptions. You view us as demons for our tactics against the CIS, and I doubt that some of you cared for any of the fallen Allied Species soldiers that died fighting in this galaxy. But that is not the point!" he shouted, turning to face Sidious. "While it is true the Jedi are guilty of many sins, they are forgivable ones, the Sith on the other hand, their crimes are much greater."

Thel raised his energy sword in front of his face, clearly ready for a battle. "It will take more than words to clear your slate of the smears that cover it. You have committed genocide and the slaughter of children, you are establishing an Empire that will no doubt have an iron grip on every last living thing in it reach. You have little right to accuse others of misdeeds, considering your own standing. I would sooner go into voluntary exile than stand alongside you! Now either fight me or surrender!"

A cold look covered Sidious' face. "So be it Councilor," he said in a very dangerous voice as he raised his light saber. Thel let out a roar as he charged forward, swinging his energy sword at Sidious.

Author's Note: I know that it's short and I know that I took awhile to update. I had to work the entire weekend and I had had a lot of other stuff going on. I promise that the next chapter will be much better and longer. Now then, I'm going to go play Call of Duty Black Ops.


	54. Choices

Chapter 54

Choices

Author's Note: Well the last chapter got much more positive feedback then I was expecting, I'm pretty happy about that. Also, I've being playing Black Ops recently and I have to say that it is a great game. I've been looking through the chapters I have already written, and I still like them but I really need to clean them up, so after this story is over, I will go back and proofread every last chapter of this story. There's one thing that's bugging me in my story, the superheated bullets, it's bugging me it seems kind of stupid now. I'm not going to use it anymore, I'm using regular bullets from here on, I'm going to go back and take them out when I revise this story. Also, I HAVE NOT ABANDONED NEW ORIGINS, I will continue it after I am done with this story, which is coming to a close. Well here's chapter number 54.

Ahsoka gritted her teeth as Vader swung his light saber directly at her throat, only for it to be blocked. Vader followed it up with a series of seeming wild strikes, aiming at random parts of Ahsoka's body, her head,chest, arms and legs among them. Ahsoka blocked the assault that Vader was throwing at her, although there were a handful of close calls. Ahsoka blocked a particularly vicious strike and began to clash her blade against Vader's.

"You really think you have the heart to kill your own master?" Vader hissed over the clashing blades.

"You stopped being my Master when you attacked the Temple," Ahsoka snapped back. "The Anakin Skywalker that I knew would never do like that, you're not him."

"You have no right to criticize me for what I did!" Vader shouted angrily. "Everything that I did I did for Padmé, I did it to protect her! You would have done the same thing for Aaron, you would do the exact same thing if you were in my position!"

"NO I WOULDN'T!" Ahsoka shouted. "You and I are nothing alike!"

"Don't be childish," Vader growled at Ahsoka. "We are both warriors in a war, we have both killed countless over the course of this war. You have dedicated your life to killing the Sith, just as my life is now dedicated to killing the Jedi. Tell me, how are we different!"

"It's Simple," Ahsoka said in calm voice. "Unlike you I have justified reasons for killing the people that I kill, unlike you I fight for the right reasons." Ahsoka intensified the strain that she was putting on her light saber, her muscles tensing. "Unlike you, I'm fighting for a purpose!" she shouted as she pushed forward with her light saber, causing Vader to stumble back.

Letting out a snarl as Ahsoka began to dash forward, he extended his hand and made clenching movement. Ahsoka stopped in her tracks, clutching desperately at her throat. It felt as if there were metal bands tightening around her throat, squeezing the air out of her. Panic began to flood through Ahsoka as her lungs began to empty, and she desperately attempted to break free, but she could not focus enough to draw on the Force. Vader's face was twisted in anger as he strangled Ahsoka.

As he continued to clench his fist, Vader noticed that a small targeting laser was pointing at his chest. Vader looked up to see Aaron, who had maintained a fair distance from the fight until this point, aiming his Spartan laser at Vader, his jaw clenched in anger. Vader released his grip on Ahsoka and dove to the side, as a massive red beam tore through the air. Vader managed to dodge the beam as he dove...mostly. Vader let out of a roar of agony as his left arm was clipped by the beam. The flesh was burned off of the arm, and the bone was charred, as the entire arm was burned off of Vader's body.

Ahsoka let out a strangled gasp as air flooded back into her lungs. Ahsoka began to cough as she attempted to catch her breath. "Ahsoka!" Aaron shouted, as he ran to where Ahsoka stood. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Ahsoka said, as her breathing leveled out. "Nice shot," she said, looking at Vader getting to his feet, clutching his stump of an arm angrily. "I thought that he would dodge it."

"Easier said than done, even for a Jedi," Aaron said. "Lasers aren't like bullets and blasters, they move at the speed of light. If a laser is shot at you, it'll hit you before you can blink. Crap he's back up." Aaron aimed his Spartan laser at Vader, who was holding his light saber in his remaining hand, rage etched across his face.

Letting out a roar, Vader charged forward, swinging his light saber. Seeing that Vader was heading directly towards him, Aaron instinctively held his Spartan laser in front of him as Vader swung violently at him, severing it in half. Dropping the destroyed weapon, Aaron jumped back as Ahsoka stepped in between the two of them, swinging her light saber at Vader, who blocked it with some difficulty. Aaron activated Ramore's energy sword and dashed forward, swiping at Vader, who was blocking a blow from Ahsoka at the moment. He barley managed to avoid the blade by side stepping it, opening an assault from Ahsoka. Aaron and Ahsoka pressed in on Vader, relentlessly stabbing and swiping at him, Ahsoka blocking any blows that he threw at either her or Aaron.

As Aaron and Ahsoka continued to force Vader back, his from became less and less disciplined, as he wildly blocked and attacked with unnecessary viciousness, roaring like an animal as he did so. Aaron was rather disturbing by the inhumane look at was spreading over Vader's face, and judging by the way she was looking at him, so was Ahsoka.

As Aaron and Ahsoka lunged forward at the same time, Vader jumped back, glaring at his opponents while let out animal like snarls. Aaron turned his head to look at Ahsoka, who was also staring at him. Ahsoka nodded at Aaron, who nodded his own head before they turned back to face Vader. They did not need to use words as they both knew what needed to be done. Vader needed to die, **NOW**.

Both of them sprinted forward, swinging their blades at Vader, who blocked them by the skin of his teeth, greatly hampered by his missing arm which caused his light saber to jerk slightly. As they continued to press in, Ahsoka and Aaron's swipes and stabs becoming faster and more frequent, Vader completely abandoned anything resembling a technique and began to swing his light saber without any thought, as he roared madly.

Aaron raised his energy sword over his head and brought it down. Vader managed to intercept the blade with his light saber as he raised it over his head. But while he was blocking Aaron's blow, Vader did not notice that Ahsoka had dropped to her knees and swung at his legs. Vader could not avoid her light saber as they severed his legs.

Vader let out a roar the tore through the sky like a razor, as he fell to the ground, his light saber falling out of his remaining hand, out of reach. Aaron and Ahsoka panted as they looked at Vader writing on the ground, furiously but futilely attempting to reach his now inactive light saber. As he realized that he could not reach it and lacked the energy to call on the Force, he glared at Aaron and Ahsoka as he roared at the top of his lungs "I HATE YOU!"

Aaron's eyes narrowed in anger as he stepped forward, energy sword in hand. He was surprised when he walked into Ahsoka's outstretched hand, blocking him. "No Aaron," Ahsoka said softly. Aaron was shocked at Ahsoka's voice, which was unusually low, and unless he was mistaken, slightly frightened. Before Aaron could say a word, Ahsoka walked forward, and with a single fluid movement, stabbed Vader through the heart. Vader let out of roar that nearly deafened Ahsoka as he thrashed wildly, then became eerily still.

"He…he's dead," Ahsoka said in a disbelieving voice as she pulled her light saber out of Vader's chest and deactivated it. "He really is dead." Ahsoka paused for a second before she raised her hand to her com unit. "Emily," she said quietly "Vader's dead, Aaron and I took care of him. I recommend that you start looking for Palpatine." As she finished speaking, her arm fell to her side.

"You ok?" Aaron asked as he deactivate Ramore's energy sword and walked up towards Ahsoka. "He used to be your master after all."

Ahsoka took a deep breath before she replied to Aaron. "I'm not going to lie, it does hurt, but…" Ahsoka shook her head "I can't really bring myself to feel sorry for him. He did so many evil things, of his own free will too. I didn't enjoy, it was just something I had to do." Ahsoka rubbed her head in fatigue. "In reality I don't know how I feel."

Aaron put his hand on Ahsoka's shoulder as they looked at each other and began to lean in. Their lips were about to connect when a shriek tore through the air. "Oh damn!" Aaron swore as he spun to face the origin of the shriek. "Padmé!" Both he and Ahsoka began to run up the hill as fast as they could, heading towards the origin of the shrieking. As the landing platform came into sight, both Aaron and Ahsoka ran to the edge of the cliff and jumped towards the platform, landing on it with a dull thud. 'Never again," Aaron thought as he and Ahsoka approached Padmé, who was writhing on the ground in pain.

"What's wrong with her?" Ahsoka asked in a panicky voice, looking at Aaron.

"I'm working on it," Aaron muttered as he furiously typed at the new medical scanner on his forearm. "Oh Jesus H. Christ," he said as he read the scan results. "She's giving birth."

"Right now?" Ahsoka said in a shocked voice.

"Right now," Aaron said grimly. "Help me get her on the ship," he said as he grabbed Padmé by the arms while Ahsoka grabbed her legs, and they both lifted her up. "Padmé I know that you're in a lot of pain right now!" Aaron said, trying to shout over Padmé's shrieks, but I need you to focus!"

"Oh this is going to be agonizing," Ahsoka groaned as they carried Padmé onto her skiff."

XXXXX

"Roger that," Emily said as she lowered her hand from her com unit. She looked at Amber, Aayla and James, who were standing right behind her. "I just got the word, Vader's K.I.A..

"So what's the plan, search and destroy, or do we hunt down Palpatine?" Amber asked, resting her shotgun on her shoulder.

"Whichever option presents itself to us first," Emily replied. "We see a factory, we blow it up, we see Palpatine we kill him."

"Clones!" James shouted, pointing at an oncoming patrol party.

"Duck and cover," Emily hissed, as they ducked behind an outcrop of rocks. "Wait until they pass by," Emily whispered, as she unholstered her assault rifle and magnum, holding one in each hand. "Then drown them in bullets."

"Got it," James whispered, as he produced his new dual SMGs. The clones continued to march forward, scanning the landscape for hostiles.

"Now," Emily hissed. There was a blast as Amber's shotgun blew off the main clone's head. Before the other's could even register, Emily and James both leaned out of cover and gunned down three clones each with their weapons. As the two remaining clones raised their blasters, Aayla charged forward, slicing the chests of the clones open.

"Well that went well," Aayla said, as she deactivated her light saber.

"Hey mom," Amber said, as she rummaged through the armor of the headless clone and produced a holographic projector. "Look at this," she said as she activated it, a hologram of a map materialized as she did. "Looks like it's got detailed descriptions of all of nearby Imperial bases."

"Let me take a look at that," Emily said, as she took the map from Amber and studied it more closely. "Looks like there's a base not too far from here," she said, pointing to a large structure on the map. "Looks like a major structure, feel like blowing it up Amber?" she asked, looking at her daughter.

"Oh Hell yeah!" Amber said eagerly. "Let's do this."

"All right," Emily said, smiling slightly "Let's move out." Gray Team began to sprint across the barren wasteland of Mustafar. After fifteen minutes of running, they came across an overlooked that gave them a good view of the Empire base.

"All right," Amber said, as she spun a dial on the side of her helmet causing her helmet to zoom in. "Looks like it's pretty heavily guarded," Amber said, as she gazed across the bases' defenses. "Couple of platoons have got the place manned," she said. "And it looks like..." Amber broke off as she spotted a clone in armor that had yellow trims. 'I recognize that armor,' Amber thought as she stared at the clone. 'I saw him in the Outer Rim, when I first met Aayla. What was his name...Bly, Commander Bly.'

"Amber, you alright?" Aayla asked, putting her hand on her shoulder.

"Wha-yeah," Amber said hastily. 'Jesus,' Amber thought 'If Aayla finds out, it'll crush her.'

"All right," Emily said. "Move in." She said as Gray team began to creep down, towards the base.

Author's Note: Well Vader's dead, but Bly is still alive, and commanding clones. Well sorry that it is so short, but still I think that it was pretty good, aw well tell me what you think.

And by the way, I know that some people will be angry at me for killing Vader, they will have wanted me to redeem him. Well let me tell you something my father told me about Vader, he doesn't deserve to be redeemed. He killed countless Jedi and children, he killed his own wife, he killed his mentor, he killed Luke's Aunt and Uncle, he blew up a planet just to install fear in others, he cut his son's arm off, he sold Han Solo to Jabba, and he's off the hook because he killed ONE SITH? NO, I DON'T THINK SO. JESUS PALPATINE DIDN'T EVEN STAY DEAD. I'm sorry, I don't buy his redemption, and I think he deserves to die, sorry if you disagree.


	55. Big Bang

Chapter 55

Big Bang

Author's Note: All right, Vader's dead and Padmé going giving (Most likely premature) birth. Meanwhile the Council and Thel are fighting Sidious and Gray Team is assaulting a base with Commander Bly in charge. All right let's get rolling.

Vadmare gritted his mandibles as turbo-lasers from an Empire ship slammed into the front of the _Glorious Victory_. "Shields at 40%!" one of the helmsmen roared.

"All weapons at the forward ship!" Vadmare shouted, as the _Glorious Victory_'s pulse lasers and plasma torpedos at the Empire ship. They pierced through the ship's weakened shields and caused it to explode.

"Fleetmaster," one of the helmsmen said, looking at Vadmare "A non-combat vessel from the planet's surface is approaching us. Aaron Colton and Ahsoka Tano are onboard and requesting permission to board."

"Very well," Vadmare said "Drop the shields around the hanger and raise them again as soon as possible." The helmsman nodded as he began to type into the console in front of him. "Aaron," Vadmare said, putting his hand to his com unit. "This is Vadmare 'Katar, may I ask why you are in a non-combat ship and returning to the Glorious Victory?"

"Fleetmaster," Aaron said, a female voice roaring in agony present in the background. "Padmé Amidala, was present on Mustafar and she's gone into labor. We needed to use her skiff to get her to the _Glorious Victory_ where there is proper medical equipment."

"Very well Aaron," Vadmare said, not truly listening to Aaron, as he was focused. He was silent for a few seconds, before he muttered under his breath "Wait, what did he say?" Vadmare's mind pieced together Aaron's words. "Amidala is in labor?" he said to no one in particular. He let out a sigh as he shook his head. "In the middle of a battle, what is the universe coming to?"

XXXXX

A Human engineer let out a moan of relief as Barriss rested both of her hands on a nasty burn that he had gotten when a plasma cell had exploded. Barriss had volunteered to remain on the Glorious Victory and heal those who were wounded in the battle, those who were stationed on the ship and those who were being evacuated to it. Fortunately, not that many people seemed to need treatment, as Barriss had only had to heal around a dozen people, and she only felt slightly drained. "All right," she said, taking her hand away from the engineer's now healed arm "You should be fine. The engineer let out a quick word of thanks, before springing to his feet and ran out of the infirmary, heading back to the engines.

Ramore let out a grunt as he lay on a bed, a machine on the table next to him was connected to tube that were inserted into his chest, acting as an artificial heart. "This is maddening," he growled "To hear the sounds of battle, to feel the vibrations of a warship in combat, and not be able to take part in it. I must endure this agony for a month?"

"Well, we did manage to get Rumas to safety because of what you did, wouldn't you say that's worth it?" Barriss asked, a small smile playing around her lips.

"True," Ramore said. "Where is Rumas?"

"Poor thing passed out," Barriss said. "I put her to bed, Aayla did ask me to watch her while she is down on the planet. She's scared senseless, she had to be pried away from Aayla because she was holding into her leg so tightly, begging her not to go." Barriss let out a sigh. "I just want all of this to be over."

"Contrary to popular to popular belief," Ramore said "Sangheili actually consider peace to be a major cultural achievement, we simply see honor in fighting for just causes, peace and security being the most major ones." Barriss smiled.

Barriss was just about to sit down when ear piercing screams came from the entrance of the infirmary. "What the?" she said, staring at the entrance. Aaron and Ahsoka stormed into the infirmary, wheeling a shrieking Padmé along with them. "Ahsoka, Aaron." Barriss said in a shocked voice, staring at Padmé "What's going on?"

"Padmé's giving birth!" Ahsoka nearly shouted. "No time to explain!" she said, spotting the shocked and confused look on Barriss' face "Can you help her deliver?" Barriss glanced around the infirmary. Seeing that everyone on-duty was busy tending to wounded, she glanced at Ahsoka and nodded.

"Help me get her on the bed," Barriss said, as she grabbed Padmé's arms and lifted her onto the bed. Barriss pressed her hands together and placed them on Padmé's bulging stomach, a faint aura surrounding them. Ahsoka glanced at Barriss nervously. She knew that her friend was a talented Force-healer, but she might have been drained from healing troopers early on in the fight, nor might not be able to help Padmé either way. "This isn't good," Barriss said grimly.

"What do you mean?" Ahsoka asked.

"Aw shit," Aaron said, who was waving his scanner over Padmé. "She's right, it's way too early, this is going to be a premature birth. Most likely the intensity of the battle brought it on," he said as he looked at his scanner. "Twins," he muttered "Great, three lives on the line." As he continued to run his scanner over Padmé, he stopped and looked at his scanner more closely. "Oh, no," he said quietly.

"What is it?" Barriss asked, as she continued to focus on Padmé, doing her best to numb that pain and reduce the damage being done by the birth.

"Her heart rate is dropping," Aaron said solemnly.

"What?" Ahsoka said, looking at Aaron "Why?"

"I don't know!" Aaron said, furiously typing on his scanner. "None of this adds up, she didn't display any kind of heart problem on Halo, so unless one cropped up in the past couple of months, I have no idea what's..." Aaron trailed off and a light seemed to go on behind his eyes. Almost absentmindedly, he lifted his hand and touched the slash that Vader had made across his face. "Broken Heart Syndrome*," he said quietly.

"What?" Barriss said, looking at Aaron. "What did you say?"

"Broken Heart Syndrome," Aaron said. "Is an uncommon condition," Aaron said "When someone goes through an extreme amount of stress and emotional turmoil, it can cause a person's cardiac muscles to weaken, which can lead to heart failure."

"So in addition to the fact that she's in the middle of premature birth, her heart's giving out on her?" Ahsoka asked in an incredulous voice.

Aaron nodded. "All right," Barriss said grimly. "I'll do what I can to heal her heart and keep it beating," she said, as she repositioned herself around the bed and pressed her hands over Padmé's heart. "Ahsoka, Aaron you'll have to take care of the delivery.

Ahsoka looked visibly shocked and frightened at the prospect of having to deliver a child. "Ahsoka," Aaron said softly "Just take a deep breath and follow my lead." Ahsoka inhaled deeply, before exhaling, looking and Aaron and nodding determinedly. 'I pray to God that this won't with death,' Aaron thought, as he injected Padmé with a light dose of Morphine.

Ramore watched the procedure silently. 'Good luck Aaron,' he thought.

XXXXX

Amber silently snuck towards a clone trooper who was patrolling the perimeter of the base, and wrapped her arm around her throat. Before the clone could make a noise, Amber had drawn her knife and stabbed the clone several times in the throat. "We won't be able to stay under the radar forever you know," Amber whispered to the rest of Gray Team, who was not that far behind her. The plan was to infiltrate the facility, destroy it, then kill any clones that survived the explosion.

"I know," Emily replied silently "But the longer we go undetected the better." Gray Team continued to creep forward silently, until they came across an entrance to the base. "All right," Emily said. "James, you go in with Amber and cover her while she plants the explosives, try not to draw attention. Aayla and I will flank around to the other side and draw their attention."

James and Amber nodded as they entered the base, and Aayla and Emily started to scale the perimeter. "James," Amber said quietly as they silently made their way through the base. "Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" James asked.

"When I first met Aayla, she was with a clone in armor with yellow trims called Bly, and she seemed to be on really friendly terms with him. I think I saw him here." Amber looked at James, her confusion hidden by her helmet. "What should we do?"

James was silent for a moment before he spoke. " I understand how this is a rather difficult situation for you, but you know what the clones have done, and if Bly's here that means he supports Palpatine fully, we're going to have no choice but to kill him if we find him."

"That's won't what I meant," Amber said, looking at James. "I mean what do we tell Aayla?"

"What do you think that we should do?" James asked.

"I..." Amber said hesitantly "I don't know. Part of me wants to not mention him at all, while another part of me wants to tell her that he was here. I don't know what to do!" she said in a frustrated voice.

"You don't always do," James said in a comforting voice. "If you want my advice, don't think about it until this whole thing is over, then follow your conscience then. It can really be hard to think straight in the middle of a battle." Amber smiled slightly as she nodded.

Without any warning an alarm started blaring, red lights flashing on and off as a high pitched whirring noise filled the base. "Looks like Mom and AAyla got their attention," Amber said through gritted teeth, as she gripped her shotgun, as she and James began an all out run. "This base must have some sort of power supply," Amber said, as they ran forward. "If I can get to there I can set charges and blow this place sky high.

As they rounded a corner that came onto a set of stairs that led downward, they found two clones standing guard. As the clones started to raise their weapons, James fired a burst from each of his SMGs into the head of one of the clones, while Amber fired her shotgun at the other's chest, causing it to burst open. As the two clones fell to the ground, pools of blood accumulating around them, Amber and James rushed past them, heading downwards.

"All right," Amber said, as they reached a square room with several whirring generators in it. "This looks like the place. It'll take some time for me to plant enough explosives to make sure that this place is completely destroyed."

"There's one way in," James said, looking back the way that they came. "The clones might have heard our shots. I'm heading back the way we came to keep an eye out for clones, stay here and keep planting the explosives."

"You sure that that's the smart thing to do?" Amber asked, looking over her shoulder as she began to plant the first charge.

"I'm sure," James said as he began to walk away, SMGs in hand. "Now get cracking on those charges."

"Yes sir," Amber said in a playful voice, as James left the room.

James headed up the stairs, and was about to round the corner when he heard voices from the other side. Sliding up against the wall, James listened closely as the voices drew closer. "Damn it, we've got two men down, someone has infiltrated this facility."

"They can't have gone far," another voice said "These men have not been dead for very long, their wounds are still bleeding. Most likely they intend to cripple our power supply. We can not allow that to happen."

As the voices drew closer, James put of of his SMGs on his thigh and drew a plasma grenade. Pushing the button, James threw the pulsing ball around the corner, towards the voices. As the grenade detonated and a voice cried out in pain, James drew both SMGs and whipped around the corner. He jammed his fingers down on the triggers and rained bullets on the clones that were partially hidden by the screen the plasma grenade had created.

When the SMGs clicked empty, all of the clones, around eight in total, were either dead or bleeding on the ground dying. 'Wait,' James thought, as he placed his SMGs on his tighs. One of the clones at the back was still drawing ragged breaths, and he had yellow trims on his armor. Walking forward, James knelt down beside the clone and ripped off his helmet. "You Bly?" he asked bluntly.

"Yes," the clone said weakly "Why do you care?"

"Just wondering," James said cooly. "If you don't mind I have a couple of questions for you. First off, what do you think of Aayla Secura."

Bly let out a hacking cough, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth, one of James' bullets had pierced his lungs. "She's a good woman," he said weakly "She's a good friend."

"Mind if I ask why you are following Palpatine's orders then?" James said, anger suddenly spiking into his voice. "Why do you take orders from a madman who wants to wipe out the very Order that Aayla fought for for the better part of her life."

"I was ordered to," Bly said "Pure and simple. My duty is to the Republic, not the Jedi, however noble they may be. If I can not follow orders, what good am I?"

"You're an individual," James said coldly. "You're not a mindless droid. Makes their own choices in life, they don't do everything someone tells them to because they believe said person is infallible. This attitude of yours caused quite a few dictators to rise and caused a fair number of wars in the history of my race."

"Are you trying to make me feel sorry?" Bly asked "Because it isn't working. I'm a soldier, I did my job."

"No you're not," James said, as he drew a magnum, cocking it and pointing it at Bly's head. "You're a tool that did the bidding of another," he said as he pulled the trigger. The bullet slammed into Bly's face, causing his head to explode. James stared at Bly's corpse for a few seconds, and only turned away when he heard footsteps.

"Charges are planted," Amber said as she rounded the corner. "Let's get out of here so I can...God what happened here?" she asked, looking at the corpses."

"Bly's dead," James said, gesturing at the Commander's corpse. Amber opened her mouth halfway before closing it and nodding. "All right," James said "Let's get out of here." The two of them ran towards the exit, and as they did so, James put a hand to his com unit. "Emily, charges are in place, put as much distance between yourself and the base as you can."

"Rodger!" Emily said over the sound of gunfire as James and Amber exited the base. They continued to run for a good five minutes before stopping and turning to face the base. "We're clear!" Emily said over the Battle-Net. James gave the thumbs up to Amber, who produced a detonator and clicked it. The base exploded in a ball of satisfying fire and James and Amber watched.

"Amber," James said, looking at the girl. "I talked with Bly before he died, I think I should be the one to talk to Aayla about it." Amber nodded silently.

Author's Note: Well another chapter comes to a close. I just want to remind you yet again that I have not abandoned Mass Effect New Origins, I am still working on how exactly the plot is going to go. Rest assured that it will be radically different this time around and I will get cracking on it when this story is done, and I think this story will last another 5 chapters at the most, I think anyway.

*Note this is an actual medical condition


	56. The Defining Point of the War

Chapter 56

The Defining Point of the War

Author's Note: I decided to call the conflict that the Allied Species have been fighting since the very beginning of the story the Intergalactic War. Also I decided to put events in this chapter that will, as the chapter says, define the entire war. Read on.

"Come on you sons of bitches!" Johnson roared at the top of his lungs as his rifle blazed in his hands, mowing down every single clone that came into his sights. He, along with 500 hundred Allied Species were engaging a clone battalion numbering at 700 in the middle of a barren field.

"HAH!" Marticus roared loudly as he swung his hammer, sending three clones flying. "These fools call themselves warriors! It is laughable!"

"Glad to see that you're enjoying yourself!" Jen said as she dashed forward, cutting down a row of clones with her katana. "This is no time to give into bloodlust!" she shouted, as she aimed her SMG at another clone, putting seven rounds into his chest."

"I must agree with miss Jennifer," Core said, as he floating upward, firing his laser at the clones below him. "Overaggressiveness can cause the release of enzymes that reduce an organisms IQ which would-"

"SHUT UP YOU ORB!" Marticus roared, as he swung his hammer again, sending more clones flying.

"What a lovely friend we've got," Johnson muttered, as he emptied the last of the bullets in his magazine into the head of a clone.

"This is Obi-Wan Kenobi!" a voice roared over the Battle-Net "We need backup, any backup that we can get!"

"Kenobi!" Hanson shouted over the Battle-Net "All of my HEVs have been deployed, and none of my dropships can be spared. Unless there are any nearby ground forces, I'm afraid that you're on your own."

"The wrinkly old bastard must be tougher than they thought," Johnson muttered. "Core! How far away from them are we?"

"If you were to push your bodies beyond their limits the entire journey?" Core asked. "Six hours."

"Shit," Johnson muttered. "I hope that they can handle themselves.

XXXXX

"Looks like we're clear," Emily said, glancing at the smoldering remains of the clone base. "No sign for pursuit."

"Glad to hear it," Aayla said, as she and Emily rested against a bolder. "Where are Amber and James?"

"There they are," Emily said, pointing at two approaching figures. Sure enough, Amber and James were approaching Emily and Aayla's position. "Hey guys," Emily said, waving at them "If you're ready we can locate and take out another target."

Amber glanced at James who hurriedly shook his head, before they both looked at Emily and Aayla, nodding. "All right," Amber said in a level voice. "Wait..." she said, a look of confusion crossing her face "Where are Ahsoka and Aaron?"

"Wait," Emily said slowly "She's right, where are they?" She lifted her hand to her com unit as she began to speak into it. "Ahsoka, Aaron what's your status.

"Can't talk now mom!" Aaron shouted over the Battle-Net, a woman's shrieking in the background.

"Aaron what the hell is going on?" Emily asked, confusion in her voice.

"I don't have time to explain all of it!" Aaron shouted "Long story short we found Padmé and had to get her back to the Glorious Victory so that she get medical attention. She's giving birth! Premature birth!"

"SHE WHAT?" Emily bellowed, not believing her ears. "Do you have any idea how dangerous birth is before the baby is ready?"

"I know!" Aaron replied, panic present in his voice. "And to make things worse, Padmé's cardiac tissue was badly weakened. Mom, her heart is giving out. Barriss is doing everything that she can to help her but...I don't know what's going to happen."

Emily was silent as these words rang in her hears, disbelief stretched across her face. "Aaron," she said weakly into her com unit "You've done enough on the battlefield, do everything you can to help Padmé make it through this. Don't worry about what's going on down here, we'll take care of it."

"Got it," Aaron said.

Emily let out a sigh as her arm fell to her side. "God damn it. Padmé you better pull through this."

XXXXX

"FORWARD BATTERIES FIRE!" Vadmare roared, as the Glorious Victory fired a barrage of plasma torpedos at a damaged Imperial ship, destroying it. The battle above Mustafar was dying down, as the majority of the Empire fleet had been wiped out, with only a couple dozen left. The surviving 114 Allied Species ships were eliminating the remaining Empire ships and the chances of them losing the battle was next to none.

"This is Obi-Wan Kenobi!" a voice roared over the Battle-Net "We need backup, any backup that we can get!"

"Kenobi!" Hanson replied "All of my HEVs have been deployed, and none of my dropships can be spared. Unless there are any nearby ground forces, I'm afraid that you're on your own."

"Curses," Vadmare muttered under his breath "It appears that Palpatine was a more dangerous opponent than the Jedi thought that he would be. How long would it take to reach to establish orbit over Councilor 'Vadam's position?" he asked one of the helmsmen.

"The better part of an hour!" the helmsman replied. "Our shields have failed and the engines took several direct hits, if they had not we would have been able to travel there faster."

"Set a course!" Vadmare yelled "We can not stay here and relax as the Councilor fights one his own. It may be unlikely that the battle will last that long, but we must act!"

"Yes Fleetmaster!" the Helmsman said as he began to type into the terminal in front of him, altering the course of the _Glorious Victory._

"Divert all power from weapons to engines!" Vadmare shouted "We have little need for offensive capabilities. Councilor Vadam," he said raising his hand to his com unit "We're are on route to provide support, however it will take us an our to arrive." There was no reply from Thel, something that struck fear into the hearts of Vadmare.

"Very well Fleetmaster," the same Helmsman said "I am making the changes to the power...Fleetmaster the scanners are picking up sudden power spikes from a destroyed UNSC frigate."

"Are there any survivors onboard?" Vadmare asked.

"I can not acquire clear readings of any biological life signs, but I did not explain the situation properly enough for you to understand the strangeness of this situation," the Helmsman said "The frigate was not destroyed by combat, as a matter of fact it looks like it was cut in half by a slipspace accident. What's more it is not registered for our assault fleet nor was it a part of the fleet that attacked this planet while it was under CIS control."

"If it is not a registered ship then where did it come from and what is it doing here?" Vadmare asked.

"I do not know Fleetmaster," the Helmsman replied. "The only explanation that I can think of is that it suffered a malfunction with its engine while at slipspace and dropped out here. Even with our modern slipspace technology there is still much about it that we do not understand. We have no idea how long this frigate has been here, it could have...Fleetmaster, the frigates engines just activated! It is setting a crash course for the planet."

"What?" Vadmare said, looking at the Helmsman "How can this be, how can half of an unregistered frigate be experiencing power spikes and active engines it is...wait," Vadmare said, an idea occurring to him. "Could it be?"

XXXXX

'How?' Thel thought weakly, as he stood, he chest heaving with ragged gasps. 'How is this possible?' For the past hour, he and the Council had attacked Sidious from all sides. They had not been able to land a single hit on him, he had flawlessly blocked every last stab, slash and slice that they had thrown at him. In addition to that, Sidious had not broken a sweat, while Thel and the Council were all out of breath.

"You have fought with great skill and valor Councilor," Sidious said, speaking only to Thel and ignoring the Jedi. "I suggest that you give up now." Thel did not speak as he took in deep ragged breaths. Vadmare's words reverberated in his head, support was an hour out and he seriously doubted that they would last that long against Sidious.

"Councilor," Sidious said in a calm voice "If you surrender now, I will allow you to leave with no strings attached and return to your galaxy. Under the condition that no Allied Species military forces ever enter Empire space, I will leave you alone for all entirety. I see no reason for you to continue fighting, you clearly can not defeat me, and even though all of my forces on this planet may be destroyed, I have countless more across the galaxy waiting on my orders. This is simply a war you can not win Councilor."

"That may be," Thel said weakly "But I have several reasons why I can not surrender."

Sidious raised an eyebrow "And those would be what?"

"First and foremost," Thel said "My species is very honor driven, and surrendering to you would stain my honor for the rest of my life, to some a fate worse than death. Second I have serious doubts that you will keep your word to not attack Allied Species space, from what I've learned Sith are not exactly well known for their honesty. Finally, even if you did keep your word, every last person in this galaxy would fall under the tyrannical rule of your Empire. Countless people would die, countless more would be oppressed, their rights sapped from them. I would rather die than have that on my conscious!" he shouted, readjusting himself into a fighting stance.

Sidious let out a sigh as he raised his light saber in a guard stance. 'What a waste of potential,' he thought as he did so.

"You do realize that if we continue this fight more likely than not we aren't going to survive," Shaak Ti said in an exhausted voice.

"Can you think of a better idea?" Thel asked dryly as he glared at Sidious.

"I suppose it's all that we can do," Obi-Wan said grimly.

"COUNCILOR!" Vadmare's voice roared over the Battle-Net.

"It would be rude not to acknowledge him one last time before my death," Thel muttered. "What is it Vadmare?" he asked, putting his hand to his com unit.

"A UNSC FRIGATE IS ABOUT TO IMPACT ON YOUR POSITION!" Vadmare bellowed.

"What!" Thel shouted as he instinctively looked up. As he did, his eyes widened in horror. Sure enough a UNSC frigate was entering the atmosphere at an alarming rate, heading for their position. "TAKE COVER!" Thel shouted at the surviving Jedi Council as they all began to run for cover.

"Councilor!" Vadmare shouted "You should know! That frigate may be-" but before Vadmare could finish his sentence, the frigate impacted.

Thel was blown off of his feet by the sheer force of the impact, as was the rest of the Council. Thel got to his feet, coughing as the smokescreen that the impact had created filled the air. As he stopped coughing, Thel noticed a rather large piece of metal on it with large bold words on it. His eyes widened as he read what was on it. "How can this be?" he wondered out loud.

"She's still trying to figure it out," a deep voice said as a tall figure walked towards Thel. "But from what she can guess, when the portal collapsed we were randomly thrown across the universe. The drift we experienced for the past 45 years brought us to this planet, since we only had a little power left. When she detected UNSC communications and heard that you were in trouble I decided that I would lend a hand."

Despite the bleakness of the situation, Thel grinned. "You really are still alive," he said as he looked at the figure, who was no longer blocked by the smokescreen. "It's good to see you again...Spartan."

Author's Note: It's a little short but I think it's pretty good. Yeah Chief his back HAPPY KNOW? GOD I AM TIRED OF GETTING REVEIW AFTER REVEIW AFTER REVEIW ASKING FOR CHEIF! HALO DOSEN'T REVOLVE AROUND HIM YOU KNOW! You know what, don't ask for Chief in New Origins, HE ISN'T GOING TO BE IN IT! I'm going to write crossover without him in that story, you don't like it THESE STORIES AREN'T TO PLEASE YOU, THEY'RE FOR ME TO EXPRESS MY CREATIVITY. If you like what I write, cool, if you give me constructive criticism, I'll listen to it, if you just don't like what I write I REALLY DON'T CARE. FYI I didn't put in Chief because you wanted him in the story I but him in because **I **wanted him in it.


	57. Climatic Battle

Chapter 57

Climatic Battle

Author's Note: This is it, the fight you've all been waiting for, the final battle of Fighting For a Purpose. Also I have an idea for a new story that actually takes place before the events of halo. I call it The Tribal Wars. It takes place on Dosiac (The Jiralhanae homeworld) and follows the events of the never ending war between the major tribes of Jiralhanae that had been going on for thousands of years. I am going to write it and I am already drawing up ideas for it. But until then I still need to finish this story.

Thel could not help but smile as he looked at the SPARTAN II that was standing before him, Master Chief. "What's the situation?" Chief asked calmly, not the tone of voice that you would expect from someone who had just crash landed on a planet from high orbit.

'He has been missing for nearly half a century and the second he is found he is ready to fight,' Thel thought, as he chuckled quietly. 'He hasn't changed at all.' "I do not have the time to explain the entire situation to you," Thel said rather hastily "One of our recent rivals, the Galatic Republic a power from outside of the Milky Way Galaxy, has recently gone through a Coup d'etat and was reformed the Empire, which is genocidal against it's former protectors, a group of warriors called Jedi. The new leader of the Empire is a Sith, a sworn enemy of the Jedi and one of the most powerful enemies we have ever scene, Darth Sidious. The Allied Species, the new alliance of humanity and former Covenant races hope to kill him and expose him to the people of this galaxy, in the hopes that it will revert back to it's original government."

"Two questions," Chief said calmly "One, where is this Darth Sidious, two where can I get a weapon?"

Thel had to stop himself from laughing, the sheer level of stoicism that Chief was using to approach this situation was unreal. "I was fighting him when you crashed," Thel said "He must still be nearby, as for a weapon," he said, as he took one of the light sabers he had taken from General Grievous and handed it to Chief "This will have to do."

Chief ignited the light saber, a bright blue blade extending from the hilt. Chief gave it a couple of experimental swings before looking at Thel. "Anything else?" he asked.

'It will be truly impossible for the UNSC to create another SPARTAN like him,' Thel thought 'The SPARTAN IVs and Vs are formidable and impressive, but they still fall short of what he is capable of.' "Be on your guard," Thel said "Sidious is a Sith, he posses supernatural abilities, including telekinesis and is capable of discharging lighting from his hands among other things. His agility and reflexes are also far above average Human level, do not let his apparently frail appearance fool you."

"That him?" Chief asked, pointing at the outline of a figure, visible through the screen of dust. Thel nodded as Sidious walked into view, completely unscathed despite the fact he had narrowly avoided being crushed by half of a frigate.

"If I may ask, who is your friend Councilor?" Sidious asked, as he dusted off his robes.

"Councilor?" Chief asked, looking at Thel.

"Later," Thel muttered. "He is SPARTAN-117, hero of the Human-Covenant War, a SPARTAN II super soldier, and arguably the most deadly Human that ever lived."

"Interesting," Sidious said. "You know that offer is still open, what do you say?"

"Let me contemplate it," Thel said "No." As the last word left Thel dashed forward, Chief doing the same a fraction of a second later. Sidious raised his blade as he blocked the thrust from Thel, before quickly moving to block an overhead slice from Chief. The SPARTAN and former Arbiter pressed in relentlessly, swinging their blades at such a sigh speed they could not be possibly be blocked by a normal Human being. Unfortunately, Sidious was not a normal Human being and was able to match them, although several times he barely blocked a blow in time.

A small frown crossing his face, Sidious went on the offensive, swinging seemly random, but actually highly calculated blows at Thel and Chief, both of whom were forced to swing their weapons as fast as they possibly could to block them. "You certainly are a skilled one," Sidious said as he raised is light saber to block a side slash from Chief. Chief was silent as he ducked down and swung is light saber at Sidious, only to have Sidious jump over it. Still in the air, Sidious swung his light saber at Thel, only to have the Councilor block the attack.

"I can clearly see why he has earned such a reputation among your people," Sidious said calmly as he spun his light saber in his hand. He is a very formidable fighter.

Chief and Thel charged forward again, their blades swinging at Sidious. Anticipating their charge Sidious jumped over the heads of his opponents, swinging his light saber at Chief as he did. Time seemed to slow down as Chief bent backwards to avoid the swing of the Sith's light saber. As it passed by his face, it barley missed as Chief ducked underneath the sweeping light saber. As Sidious landed, Chief dropped to all fours and threw a sweep kick at Sidious, who preformed a backflip to dodge the SPARTAN's powerful kick. Thel charged forward, swinging his sword at Sidious' face, aiming to decapitate him. Sidious sidestepped the blow and thrust his light saber at Thel, who threw himself to the side and rolled out of the way to avoid the deadly blow.

'At this rate this battle will continue until either side collapses from exhaustion,' Thel thought. A grim feeling spread through his chest as he realized how heavy his arms felt. Although he was still fighting with all of his strength and skill, he still was drained from his earlier fight with Sidious. 'The two of us together are barley keeping up with him,' Thel thought 'If one of us dies, the other is surely doomed. To make matters worse, I do not think that my body can take much more strain. If we do not defeat him now we never will.'

As these thoughts ran through his head, Sidious charged at him and swung his light saber at him. Thel attempted to roll out of the way, but was unable to completely clear the light saber in time. Thel let out a roar of agony as the light saber burned through his flesh and severed his left arm. As his arm hit the ground with a dull thud, Thel completed his roll and clutched his stump of an arm as Chief charged at Sidious and began to exchange blows with him.

Pain the was next to unbearable tore through Thel's body as his remanning arm throbbed with pain. "It...it will not end like this." Thel said quietly as he got to his feet, clutching his energy sword in his good arm. "I will not die like this," he said as he raised his energy sword. "I CAN STILL FIGHT!" he roared, as Sidious jumped back to avoid a swipe from Chief.

"SPARTAN!" Thel shouted at Chief, who glanced at him. "The fate of our galaxy and this one depends on the outcome of this fight. We must end this now or else it will never end. SPARTAN, lend me your strength, let us both attack with every last ounce of strength that we have!"

"Got it," Chief said calmly as both he and Thel glanced at Sidious and charged forward. Both of them swung their blades at Sidious, who spun on the spot and blocked their blows. Thel and Chief continued to press in, attacking Sidious relentlessly, but Sidious was able to keep up. The three blades of the combatants became faster and faster until they were little more than blurs. The three combatants all wore grim expressions as they continued to swing. They were all thinking the same thing, their duel had reached such and intensity and speed that if just one person was to make the smallest of mistakes, his life would be snuffed out in a blink of an eye. The tension was unbelievably thick and almost hung in the air as the three blades swung and clashed in the air.

Without warning, everything came to a sudden halt, and all three of the fighters ceased to move. All three of them stood completely still, in the position that had decided the battle. Thel's energy sword and Sidious' light saber were pressed against each other, while Chief's light saber was sticking into Sidious' chest and out the other side. A weak smile spread across Sidious' voice as he let out a hacking cough, a glob of blood splattering the ground as he did.

"Well," Sidious said weakly, as Chief withdrew his light saber from Sidious' chest. "It would seem...that I have lost." Sidious let out another violent cough as he dropped his light saber and fell to his knees. "Councilor, SPARTAN. While you have defeated me in battle my respect for you has not faltered, if anything it has been intensified. Fo you know how many have defeated a Grandmaster of the Sith, even if it was 2 to 1 combat? Very few."

"But know this," he continued, a smile still lingering across his face. "This wound is fatal and has pierced my lungs, at the very most I have two minutes to live. But while you have won this battle, you have not ended the war. So long as there is a single Force sensitives in the universe, there will always be someone who is willing to give his heart to the Dark Side. While you may have killed me, the Sith will live on, and never die." A smile spread across Sidious' face as he fell forward onto the ground. "It may take hundreds or thousands of years," he said weakly as he lay face down in the ground "But the Sith will rise again." Sidious let out a weak chuckle, and then became very still.

"He is dead," Chief said as he looked at Sidious' body. "Arbiter, your arm," he said, looking at Thel.

"A small price to pay for his demise," Thel said, as he walked to where his severed arm lay. "With luck it can be reattached." Thel deactivated his energy sword and places it on his hip before reaching for his com unit. "This is Councilor 'Vadam," he said "Vadmare, Sidious is dead, we need an extraction."

"Yes Councilor," Vadmare said over the Battle-Net "It is imperative that you take Sidious' corpse we must use it as evidence to prove the Senate that their Chancellor was a Sith."

"Very well," Thel said as he lowered his hand and picked up his severed arm. "SPARTAN," Thel said, looking at Chief. "We will be leaving soon, we will require his body." Chief nodded as he deactivates his light saber and picked up the corpse, throwing it over his shoulder as if it weighed nothing.

"Oh, my head," a voice said. Thel and Chief looked at the source to see Obi-Wan and the rest of the Jedi Council making their way to where they stood. They were all either limping or clutching wounded arms. "Councilor," he said as he spotted Thel and Chief. "Who is that?" he asked as he pointed at Chief. "Is Sidious dead?" he asked looked at the corpse over the SPARTAN's shoulder. "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR ARM?" he shouted as he noticed Thel's injury. Thel let out an exhausted sigh. "I shall explain later," he said wearily. "As of now I am tired and must rest. Just a moment," he said as he raised his hand to his com unit once again. "Councilor Vadam to Gray Team," he said "Has Vader been eliminated?"

"This is Aaron Colton," a voice said "He's dead Councilor." Thel frowned as Aaron spoke. There was a high pitched crying in the background that sounded oddly familiar to..."Colton," Thel said "Is that a...newborn crying?"

XXXXX

High above Mustafar on the Glorious Victory, Aaron smiled as he glanced at Padmé who was lying in bed, clutching her newborn children. "You're going to have to take things easy for awhile," Barriss said as she stood next to Padmé's bed "But if you do your heart should be just fine. Padmé smiled weakly as she nodded.

"Yes it is Councilor," Aaron said a grin splitting his face. "Yes it is."

Author's Note: The final defining battle of the Intergalactic War comes to an end. Only two or three more chapters to go at this point, I just need to wrap a couple of things up. After this I can focus one Mass Effect New Origins. All right, review and tell me what you think. Also tell me what you think about my Tribal Wars story.


	58. Aftermath

Chapter 58

Aftermath

Author's Note: The main action for this story is over for now I just need to wrap up the plot ends. Also I have begun to write the first chapter of the Tribal Wars which I will post as soon as it is done. Well here you go, enjoy.

"A rather...interesting suggestion," Thel said. He was staring at the cryo-pod that Chief had inhabited for the last 45 years. It was active and Thel's severed arm had been placed inside.

"It should preserve your arm until we can get it reattached," Chief said, as he looked at the pod, still carrying Sidious' corpse over his shoulder. Thel had ordered all Allied Species forces to withdraw from Mustafar several hours ago, most of the soldiers had already withdrawn, despite the fact that clone strongholds still dotted the planet. In reality there was no need to attack them, the planet held no strategic value to the Allied Species. Thel, Chief and the Jedi were simply waiting for for extraction.

"How exactly are we going to convince the Senate that Sidious was a Sith?" Obi-Wan asked, looking at Thel. "Odds are they'll just say we're just telling them tall tales, remember they still think that we tried to overthrow him."

"His body was deformed by the Dark Side of the Force," Thel said, gesturing at the corpse. "If we show it to them with luck they will believe us."

"And if that will not do it," Chief said, pointing to his helmet "My helmet is designed to record everything that I see. This guy decided to give a pretty big speech about how the Sith would rise again, if that doesn't convince him nothing will."

"Ah finally," Thel said as he spotted a Phantom descending towards their position. The Phantom landed, it's doors opening and Vadmare 'Katar stepped out.

"Councilor," he said, looking at Thel "Your arm,"

"Yes," Thel said, rubbing his stump "Most unfortunate, however it is being preserved," he said, gesturing at the cry pod.

"Very well," Vadmare said "We should be able to reattach it if we...Forerunners, Councilor...is that...him?" he asked slowly pointing at Chief.

Thel smiled and nodded. "Yes Fleetmaster, it is."

XXXXX

"A boy and a girl huh?" Emily said as she stood smiling in the infirmary. Padmé was asleep, having passed out from exhaustion. The babies were also sleeping silently. "Where have I seen this before? Wait, Barriss what are you doing?" Emily asked as the Jedi ran her hands over her stomach and chest, a mystical glow surrounding her hands.

"You might have inhaled an unhealthy amount of volcanic ash on Mustafar," Barriss said as she took her hands off of Emily and moved on to Ahsoka. "I've already checked everyone else," she said as she began to run her hands over Ahsoka, using the Force to sense the condition of her body through her armor. "Thankfully no one else showed any problems, I suppose it's more of a nervous habit from...from..." Barriss fell silent as her hands came to rest over Ahsoka's stomach, a look of shock on her face.

"What is it?" Ahsoka asked, looking worried "Is something wrong?"

Barriss was silent as she took her hands off of Ahsoka's stomach. "Ahsoka," she said uncertainly "Could I talk to you and Aaron outside?" Ahsoka and Aaron glanced at each other before Ahsoka looked at Barriss and nodded, as they stepped out of the infirmary.

"What's this about?" Aaron asked as the door to the infirmary closed behind them "Is Ahsoka sick or something?"

"Well," Barriss said "She's not unhealthy or anything like that, but I did pick up on something...something that you should know about."

"What is it?" Ahsoka asked looking slightly frightened "Barriss you're scaring me what is it?"

"Ahsoka," Barriss said slowly "It's...twins, you and Aaron are going to have twins."

Ahsoka let out a high pitched shriek that causing Aaron and Barriss to instinctively clap their hands over their ears. "I'm-I'm-I'm...pregnant?" Ahsoka stuttered. Aaron and Barriss looked at Ahsoka, Barriss looking worried and Aaron extremely guilty. Aaron looked like he was about to say something when Ahsoka turned to face him and, without warning, wrapped her arms around him. "This...this is wonderful news," she said softly as tears began to leak from her eyes. "Aaron," she said, smiling as tears sparkled in her eyes "We're going to be parents."

Aaron, who had half expected Ahsoka to be furious with him smiled as he hugged Ahsoka. "Yeah," he said quietly "It's something isn't it?"

"What the Hell is all the screaming about?" Emily said as the door to the infirmary opened again and she, Amber and James exited. "Why is Ahsoka all worked up?" she asked in a concerned voice.

"Mom," Aaron said, looking at his mother "You're going to be a grandmother."

"WHAT?" Emily shrieked as James and Amber's eyes widened in shock. "When did this happen, you know what never mind I don't to know. Are you serious, you two are going to have a kid?"

"Twins," Ahsoka said, as she broke away from Aaron and looked at Emily, tears still leaking from her eyes despite the fact that she was smiling."

"I…I don't know what to say," Emily said uncertainly. "I mean-I just-you…come here," he said softly as she grabbed Ahsoka and pulled her into a tight hug. "If you ever need any kind of help don't hesitate to ask," she whispered as she tightly held her future daughter-in-law.

"Heh," Amber said, as she walked over to Aaron and playfully bopped him on the shoulder. "I'm going to be an aunt huh? Aaron you know you that you're only 20, you sure that you're up for this."

"We'll be fine," Aaron said, smiling as he looked at his sister. "What do think is going to happen?"

Amber chuckled. "Just making sure that you know what you're getting yourself into," she said as she hugged her brother.

Barriss smiled slightly as she silently slipped back inside the infirmary. "Hey Ramore," she said, looking at the Sangheili, who was still lying on his bed "You remember what I said to you back in the Room of a Thousand Fountains?" Ramore nodded. "I take it back, those two really are something else."

"I agree," Ramore said smiling slightly.

Back in the hallway, James was smiling as he watched the events play out before him until he noticed something. "Wait," he said slowly "Where's Aayla?"

"He's got a point you know," Amber said as she broke away from her brother "Where is she?"

"I think I know where she is," Emily said as she stepped away from Ahsoka and pointed down the hallway. Everyone turned to see Aayla walking down the hallway, a sleeping Rumas in her arms.

"Hey everyone," Aayla said softly as she approached the rest of Gray Team, coming to a halt in front of them. "I was just getting some food for her when she dosed off."

"You're really attached to her aren't you?" James asked, as he glanced from Aayla to Rumas and back again.

"The poor thing's seen things no one should have to see, let alone at her age," Aayla said defensively. "It's only natural that she'd seek someone out for comfort and protection. Besides," she said, gently stroking Rumas' head "She's a sweet girl, she really grows on you."

"I never said it was a bad thing," James said, smiling slightly "It's just that you remind me of someone that's all." As he spoke, he glanced at Emily and smiled slightly."

At this point Amber felt her eyelids growing heavy and instinctively rubbed them. Spotting this out of the corner of her eye Emily spoke up. "Look," she said "We fought a big battle today and won a major victory I think we should all get some sleep. We're going to be heading back to Coruscant soon and we'll most likely arrive tomorrow. The welcome party might not be very friendly so I want all of you to be well rested. Good night," she said as Gray Team dispersed.

"So what did I miss?" Aayla asked Amber as they began to walk towards their quarters.

Aaron and Ahsoka walked alongside each other as they heading towards Ahsoka's room. "Unbelievable," Aaron muttered "We did it one time and you're already pregnant? I'm not complaining but to you have any idea what the odds of that are?"

Ahsoka gave a sheepish smile "I'm guessing that they're ridiculously high, but who's complaining, we're going to have two beautiful baby girls in nine months.

"Yeah," Aaron said as he smiled slightly "Two-wait how do you know that they're girls?"

"Mother's intuition," Ahsoka said, smirking slightly.

"Oh sure, ten minutes ago you didn't even know that you were pregnant, you haven't started showing any signs of pregnancy and you're already throwing that "Women know better" bullcrap at me?" Aaron said in a playful tone

Ahsoka continued to smirk "How about we just go with I can tell because I used to be a Jedi and leave it at that?"

"Fair enough," Aaron said, as they both entered Ahsoka's room, closing the door behind them.

"Good," Ahsoka said warmly "But enough goofing around Aaron, what are we going to do about this?" she said, sitting down on her bed and rubbing her belly. "We don't know a single thing about being parents, and soon we're going to have twins." Ahsoka glanced up at Aaron "I'm a little scared Aaron," she said quietly

"Hey," Aaron said comfortingly as he sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulder "I'm nervous too. Our children are going to be completely dependent on us to provide for them and to set a good example for them to mirror themselves by. It's not going to be easy but I think that we can do it."

"Thanks," Ahsoka said softly as she turned to face Aaron. As she did, she saw the slash that he had gotten from his fight with Vader. After Padmé had given birth, Barriss had examined it and confirmed that it would leave a scar. Although she had offered to treat it, Aaron had denied it saying "No matter how terrible they are, some things should never be forgotten."

"Aaron," Ahsoka said softly "Why didn't you let Barriss get rid of this," she asked, lightly tracing the slash.

Aaron let out a sigh. "Was killing Vader easy?" he asked bluntly.

Ahsoka hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "No," she said sadly "It was probably one of the hardest thing that I did in my entire life. That wasn't the man that trained me, but that doesn't change the fact that he once was."

"I know," Aaron said "Most likely this war will leave emotional scars on your. It wouldn't feel right if I just shrugged my scars off while you're stuck with yours for the rest of your life."

"You do know that you don't need to do that right?" Ahsoka asked, a disapproving look on her face.

"Call it stupidity, pride or a sense of honor that I picked from Ramore, I'm not getting this thing removed," Aaron said forcefully, gesturing at the mark with his thumb.

Ahsoka let out a sigh, smiling slightly. "You're just like me sometimes," she said "When you make your decision on something, no one can change your mind." Aaron and Ahsoka both laughed.

"I guess that's just one of the things that drew us together," Aaron joked. After a little bit the laugher died down and both of them were quite. "You know," Aaron said "We're going to come up with names for them."

"I never thought about that," Ahsoka said honestly. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Hm," Aaron said, who was clearly racking his brain for ideas "Are you sure that they're both girls?" Ahsoka hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Alright, how about Rachel, Rachel Colton?" he asked.

"I like that name," Ahsoka said, as she rubbed her stomach again. "How about Rioka for her sister's name?"

"Rioka and Rachel Colton," Aaron repeated. "For some reason those names just feel right.

"Rachel, Rioka," Ahsoka said absentmindedly as she looked at her stomach. "I know you two can't hear me right now, but I want you two to know that you have a mother and a father who love you very much."

Aaron chuckled "And you're worried that you won't be a good mother," he said as he kissed Ahsoka's cheek.

Author's Note: Well that's all I got for you now, please tell me what you think. Also, before I put another chapter up, I'm going to post the first chapter of my Tribal Wars story. Sorry that this chapter is so short, in reality I'm running out of things to write, this story will last another 2 maybe 3 chapters.


	59. Full Circle

Chapter 59

Full Circle

Author's Note: Like I said, I just need to wrap up a couple of lose ends here, tie up the plot and that's about it. After this I'll be bouncing back and forth between New Origins and Tribal Wars, then I'll write the sequel to this story somewhere down the road. All right here we go.

"It's over," Amber said, as she sat in the cafeteria of the _Glorious Victory_, cleaning her shotgun with a cloth. "It's finally over, we're going home."

"Yeah," Nicole said absentmindedly as she sat next to her. A month ago, the Allied Species fleet that had attacked Mustafar had arrived at Coruscant, bringing the body of Sidious with them. It had taken weeks of negotiations and debate, but in the end the Senate had yielded and called off Order 66. As Sidious was dead, the Senate was the head of the newly reformed Republic and thus the clones had complied. Most of the Allied Species forces had remained behind for continued for negotiations, but those were only the forces that fell under the command of Admiral Paterson, in addition to Thel, whose arm had been reattached and Chief, who was acting as security. Thy rest of the fleet had been ordered to return to Allied Species space, the war was over, their presence was no longer needed.

"Did you hear that Councilor 'Vadam and Admiral Paterson are going to try to convince the Republic to dissolve the clone army?" Nicole asked.

"Not surprising," Nicole said "Considering the way they were willing to carry out Sidious' orders without question. If the Republic still wants to maintain a military they'll have to go with either volunteer forces, or pass conscription."

"Yeah," Amber said "Anyway now that the war is over how do you want to celebrate it when we get home, I mean we can't an occasion like this go by and not celebrate am I right?"

Nicole let out a slight chuckle. "I suppose you have a point, bar night?" she suggested.

"Nah," Amber said "That's something what we'll do for Ahsoka's bachelor party, we need to do something that's a little more...THAT'S IT!" she said, slapping her knee, as realization filled her eyes.

"What?" Nicole asked, slightly startled by Amber's sudden decoration.

"Aaron and Ahsoka," Amber said "They don't have a date yet." Amber smiled "What better way to celebrate a war than a wedding?"

Nicole let out a thoughtful "Hm," as she rubbed her chin. "Maybe," she said "We'd have to get Aaron and Ahsoka to give us the green light on that one, not to mention there's the decorations, the food, the dress and of course the rings." Amber frowned slightly, but before she could say anything, vibrations passed through the ship.

"What the Hell?" Amber said, standing up. "We can't be home yet, it's way too soon. Why did we stop early?"

As if on cue, Vadmare's voice crackled over the Battle-Net. "All hands," he said "I have broken off from the rest of the fleet to make a small detour. We have arrived in orbit of the very planet where the Allied Species first took part in this war, Tatooine. A memorial has been placed on the planet, anyone who wishes to pay their respects to to those have fallen have two hours in order to do so before we depart."

Amber and Nicole glanced at each other. "What do you say? Want to go down there?" Nicole asked.

"Nah," Amber said "I don't have the right to be down there, I didn't fight there. Besides, there's a couple of people I know are going to be down there, I think they deserve to be alone."

XXXXX

"How long has it been since we fought here?" Aaron asked as he and Ramore stood in front of the of the remains of the _Staggering Strike_, a marble statue of the battlecruiser when it had been first built.

"Six months," Ramore muttered, as he rubbed his chest where his fresh heart had been transplanted several days ago. "I trust that you have put your energy sword to good use?"

Aaron nodded as he took the grip off of his thigh and showed to to Ramore. "I really should thank you for this," Aaron said as he put the grip back on his thigh. "I know it isn't something you did absentmindedly." Sangheili received only one energy sword when they became adults, two if they had spent their preferred two sword style over single sword style. Afterwards they never received another energy sword for the rest of their lives. If they lost their sword or it broke, they would never receive another one and would have to do without one for the rest of their lives.

"You are aware that you can not simply brandish an energy sword like a stick and expect it's full potential to be realized," Ramore said. He grinned slightly as he glanced at Aaron. "When you fought Vader you had little to no idea what to do with it did you?"

Aaron made a face that was somewhere between a smile and a grimace. "No," he said "Ahsoka blocked practically all of the blows, I just swung like I would with a knife, and it wasn't that effective."

"I thought not," Ramore said, glancing back at the memorial.

"Ahsoka and I are talking about daily spars." Aaron said. "She thinks that if we go at each other enough, I should be able to adapt my own style."

"And what will that comprise of?" Ramore asked "Five years of her completely outclassing you and constantly defeating you while she is only mildly trying? After all you could not defeat Vader without the help of you're wife to be." Ramore wasn't even trying to hide the smile on his face.

"Keep talking," Aaron joked "Vader may have had me outclassed, but at least I walked away from it with just a scratch," he glanced at Ramore "And all of my internal organs."

"Losing a heart is a minor injury," Ramore said dismissively, the smile not fading from his face. "I still had a second one keeping me alive."

"Sure," Aaron said sarcastically. "The fact that you had a gaping hole in your chest, with blood literally being pumped out didn't endanger your life at all."

"What are you two talking about?" Aaron and Ramore turned to see Ahsoka walking towards them, and a Pelican in the distance, heading back to the ship.

"Not much," Aaron said, looking at his fiancée as she approached Aaron. While Aaron and Ahsoka were looking at each other, Ramore smiled as he silently activated his active camouflage.

"Perhaps it would better if I were to leave." Ramore said slightly, as he walked away from the _Staggering Strike_'s wreckage, reaching for his com unit to hail a Phantom.

"So," Ahsoka said, as she and Aaron walked towards the wreckage. "This is where we first met."

Aaron nodded. "I was just minding my own business, practicing my shooting when the ship get's shot down and Ramore and I get into a fight for our lives. Trust me I remember that day clearly."

"Oh, do you remember the part when you pointed a gun at me after I showed up to save your sorry hide?" Ahsoka asked playfully.

"Oh cut me some slack!" Aaron shouted, as Ahsoka laughed. "I was having a rough day, mental handicapped droids had spent the last six hours shouting at me, can you blame me for being a little hostile towards a person, let alone a species I had never seen before?"

"Aw," Ahsoka said in a fake hurt voice. "Aaron you're hurting my feelings."

"There, there," Aaron said, going along with it. "Rub some ice on it and it should feel better." They both laughed. "So, what happens once when get back?" Ahsoka asked.

"I don't know," Aaron said, shaking his head slightly.

"Well at least you're honest," Ahsoka said. "I suppose the first thing we should do is take care of these two," she said, rubbing her belly lightly.

"Eight months," Aaron said. "In eight months, we're going to have two children. Jeez, is it just me or did our lives get thrown completely out of proportion?"

Ahsoka gave a small chuckle. "No, that more or less summarizes everything that's happened to us since this ship slammed into the planet's surface."

Aaron smiled, as he nodded his head. He was about to speak again when he noticed a vague shape further up again in the wreckage of the _Staggering Strike_. "I don't think that we're alone," he said, as he unholstered his sniper rifle. "Someone's up ahead," he said, as he stared down the scope. "Oh no way," he said softly, as he saw who was sitting in the wreckage in the ship.

"What is it," Ahsoka said, her hand instinctively darting towards her light saber.

"Oh god you have got to see this," Aaron said as he grinned and turned his rifle's safety on and handed it to Ahsoka. "Check it out," he said, pointing towards where he had just been training with his scope.

Unsure of what Aaron was talking about, she aimed the sniper rifle where Aaron was pointing and looked down the scope. "No way," she said, a grin spreading across her a face. "No way," she said, smiling widely as she handed Aaron his sniper rifle back. "Are they really doing that?" Ahsoka asked. Aaron's grin grew even wider as he nodded. "What are they doing now?" she asked.

Aaron looked down the scope again. "They're just talking, for now at least."

"This is way overdo," Ahsoka said, as she tried to look down the scope along with Aaron, unsuccessfully of course. "Aaron keep telling me what they're doing, she requested as she leaned back. Aaron nodded as he continued to look down the scope.

Within the outer wreckage of the _Staggering Strike_, unaware that they were being watched, James and Emily were sitting next to each other and talking. "So you're going to be a grandmother soon huh?" James asked, desperately trying to ignore the fluttering in his stomach and failing miserably.

"Yeah," Emily said dreamily as she looked at James. "You know I never really got around to thanking you James. You've done so much for me, you helped me in the War on Salvation, you watched Aaron and Amber while they were growing up, and you reenlist and receive augmentations just to keep an eye on them."

"Uh, yeah," James said, resisting the urge to gulp. "Uh, Emily I need to talk to you," he said nervously.

Emily smiled warmly as she said "What is it James."

"Um," James stuttered nervously. 'Come on James, it's been way too fucking long, you killed a Jiralhanae with a knife the size of a stick. You've known her for years, just do it!' "Um, Emily, we've known each other for a long time, we've been through a lot together and I would like to think that we really know each other. Um," he said, rubbing the back of his head nervously, his composer collapsing. "What I'm trying to tell you...what I mean is...I kind of..."

"James," Emily said softly, still smiling warmly.

"Um, yeah?" James asked.

"You talk too much," she said, as she leaned in and, much to the shock of James, kissed him. Confused as humanly possible, but not planning on arguing, James simply returned the kiss as they wrapped their arms around each other.

While this was happening, Aaron was watching through his sniper rifle, smiling widely as he lowered his rifle. "What happened?" Ahsoka asked, looking at Aaron. "Did they...kiss?" Aaron slowly looked at Ahsoka and, smiling, nodded. Letting out a squeal, Ahsoka practically slammed into Aaron and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "This is great!" she practically shouted. "They're practically made for each other."

Aaron smiled as he glanced in the direction of his Mother and Step-Father. "I know," he said softly as he hugged Ahsoka tightly. "I know."

Author's Note: Well, Aaron and Ahsoka reconcile about their past, and Emily and James finally get together. Well, I just need to do another chapter or two, and then the epilogue and we're finished here. All right, it's short blah blah blah blah blah, no one seems to be really bothered by it, so I'm going to assume that my reader's prefer quality over quantity. All right, I hope that you enjoyed it, please tell me what you thought.


	60. Dawn of the Future

Chapter 60

Dawn of the Future

Author's Note: Well I came up with a couple of ideas that I think my readers will like. The thing is, we all know George Lucas, he's a great writer with a brilliant mind who is way more successful than I'll probably ever be, but he's still human and therefore makes mistakes. I have a couple of bones to pick with your ideas. This chapter should be pretty self explanatory and my problems with Lucas' ideas should stick out like a sore thumb.

Nine Months Later

Ramore let out a sigh as he stood in one of the many floating pods in the Senate Chamber. Since the end of the Intergalactic War, the Allied Species had regularly sent ambassadors with escorts to meet with the Republic in order to maintain a heathy relationship. Ramore had been chosen to be the most recent ambassador, or as Aaron had put it when he had been informed, had drawn the short stick.

In reality, Ramore was not happy with his temporary position as an ambassador. It was dull, boring and in his opinion, pointless, as he believed that the Allied Species did not need to send an Ambassador to monitor the day to day events of the Republic. "What purpose does this serve," he muttered to himself.

"Have patience," Core said, as he floated by Ramore's head "It is almost over." Since the war, Core had acted as an assistant to Allied Species higher ups during significant situations. He had also given the Allied Species all of the data that he had managed to salvage from Instillation 03, which unfortunately had been limited, mostly information concerning slipspace drives, which would take who knows how long to incorporate into all of the Allied Species' ships.

Ramore merely grunted as he heard the newly elected Chancellor dismiss the meeting. "Finally," Ramore muttered as they exited the Senate Chamber. "Remind me what exactly what was covered in that meeting, my attention slipped."

"Plans to place speeder toll booths on commonly used highways, voting on the bill to make it required that tattooing head tails requires a license, and the increase of immigrating Twi'leks," Core said unenthusiastically.

"Oh, it could have been worse," Padmé said, walking towards where Ramore and Core were. "I personally found the toll booth idea to be quite fascinating." Ramore smiled. "So is anyone else that I know here?

"As far as I know, Johnson is the only one on planet that you know," Ramore said. "How are the children?"

"They're doing fine, they finally got walking down." Padmé said cheerfully. "They're home sleeping right now, 3PO is watching them. Speaking of babies, aren't you going to be a godfather soon?"

"Yes," Ramore said grimly. "And while Aaron's children will be born any day now, I am in a different galaxy, stuck in the cesspool of politics," he muttered, as his com unit beeped. "Pardon me," Ramore said, as he pressed his hand to his com unit. "What is it? What? Why? Where is he now? Very well," Ramore growled as he lowered his hand.

"What is it?" Padmé asked.

"I don't know exactly what happened, but apparently Johnson is in a rage and is trying to kill someone, and from what I've heard he is chasing said person this way" Ramore said grimly, as Padmé's eyes widened. "What I don't understand is what could have driven a mentally and emotionally stable man like Johnson to commit murder?"

As if on cue, the doors by Ramore and Padmé burst open, and a pinkish amphibian creature ran in clumsily, followed closely by Johnson, who was hot on the creature's tail with his battle rifle in his arms. "Mesa no wanna die!" the creature squealed.

"GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!" Johnson roared as he fired three bursts from his rifle, which barely missed as both he and the creature tore past Padmé and Ramore before they could blink.

"Do you have any idea who Johnson is trying to kill?" Ramore asked in a exhausted voice.

"I think that was Representative Jar Jar Binks," Padmé said wearily. "He as a reputation for being...infuriating."

"Very well," Ramore said "We better stop Johnson before he kills him and starts a war."

"Trust me," Padmé said as they began to run after them "I think it'll be more likely for him to get a medal."

XXXXX

Despite the fact that she was sleeping within the safety of her new home, Ahsoka was not at peace. As she lay in the bed that she shared with her husband, she thrashed lightly in her sleep. "I'm sorry," she whimpered under her breath "I didn't mean to, I thought-GAH!" With a jolt her eyes snapped opened and she returned to the world of consciousness. After lying still for a few seconds, confused at the sudden change between the harshness of her dream and the safety of her bed, she sat up, rubbing her head.

"Damn it," she muttered under her breath "I...I nearly forgot about that." She had been dreaming about the First Battle of Ryloth, or to be more specific, how her own actions had caused the majority of her squad to be gunned down. "What was I thinking?" she asked through gritted teeth, as tears began to leak from her eyes.

Woken by the thrashing of his wife, Aaron sleepily rose to a sitting position. "Ahsoka what's wrong?" he asked groggily, rubbing his eyes. Ahsoka turned to face him, and upon seeing the tears streaming down her face, all sleepiness left Aaron immediately. "What happened?" he asked, a look of worry crossing his face.

"Nothing," Ahsoka lied, desperately trying to wipe away her tears. "My hormones are acting up that's all."

"Ahsoka," Aaron said softly, as he put his hand over Ahsoka's now bulging stomach. "I know when you get emotional because of the girls and when you get emotional because something's bothering you, and let me tell you, it's the latter right now. Come on, what is it?"

"All right," Ahsoka said, as she got out of bed.

"What are you doing?" Aaron asked, as he also got out of their bed. Glancing at the clock, he noticed that it was 3 o'clock by Horizon standard.

"Well," Ahsoka said, smiling slightly as she dressed herself. "I didn't exactly lie, my hormones really are acting up. I've got some pretty bad cravings right now."

"The usual?" Aaron asked, as he started to get dressed as well. Ahsoka nodded. "All right," he said, as the freshly dressed couple made their way out of their room and towards the kitchen of the Colton household. "Well," Aaron said, as Ahsoka sat down at the table and he opened the freezer. "Here you go," he said, as he pulled out a carton of strawberry ice cream, a spoon and slip them both towards Ahsoka.

"Thanks," she said, as she opened the carton started to eat it.

"So what's bothering you?" Aaron asked, as he sat down across from Ahsoka. "Why were you crying?"

Ahsoka let out out a small sigh as she lifted another spoonful of ice cream to her mouth. "Well," she said, after swallowing the ice cream. "I...I had a nightmare about the Clone Wars." Aaron nodded, clearly asking for Ahsoka to continue. "Three years before you and I even met, the CIS were occupying Ryloth and had established a blockage around the planet. I was given command of a battle-group of fighters, and told to shatter the blockade. At first it was going alright, but then CIS reinforcements arrived to push us back and I was ordered to retreat."

Ahsoka placed her spoon on the table and buried her face in her hands. "I didn't, I thought that we could get through if we just kept pressing." As she spoke, Ahsoka began to sob quietly. "By the time my common sense finally took effect, and we got back to the fleet, half of the squad was dead." Ahsoka was downright bawling at this point. "If I could have just used my freaking brains, those men would still be-still be- still be..." Ahsoka's words became completely unintelligible at this point as she cried uncontrollably.

Silently, Aaron got up, walked towards Ahsoka and wrapped his arms around her as she buried her face in her husband's shoulder. "Ahsoka," he said softly as he held his wife "Don't you think that you might be being a little hard on yourself?"

"Hard on myself?" Ahsoka asked, almost hysterically as she looked Aaron in the face. "Aaron, good people died because I was being a moron, how in the world am I being hard on myself?

"Don't you think it's unreasonable that you're tearing yourself down because you were a poor military commander when you were fourteen?" Aaron asked in an exasperated voice.

Ahsoka's crying slowly subsided as she let out a small hiccup.

'Well," she said, still clearly upset, despite the fact that she teary smile on her face. "When you put it like it is kind of silly."

"Exactly," Aaron said, as he wiped Ahsoka's tears away. "You should have never been put in that situation in the first place." Aaron frowned "Why were given command in the first place? Seriously were all of eleven year old commanders less competent than you?"

Ahsoka could help it as she laughed wetly. "Thanks Aaron," Ahsoka said softly, as she broke away from Aaron, her breathing rate slowly dropping. "I really needed that."

"What do you think caused you to have that nightmare?" Aaron asked, as Ahsoka picked up her spoon and continued to eat. "Hormones?" he asked dryly. Her mouth full, Ahsoka merely nodded. Aaron let out a small chuckle. 'She never told me about this before,' Aaron thought privately. 'But now I think about it, the Republic made all kinds of stupid moves, in addition to giving a fourteen year old the position of leader, they had all other kinds of idiots for leaders. Most of them were Jedi that were extremely cocky but,' Aaron scowled as memories of Vader flew through his head "Some were down right psychopathic."

Ahsoka was reaching down for another spoonful of ice cream, when she let out a small gasp and dropped her spoon. "What's wrong?" Aaron asked, clearly worried. He received an answer when he saw liquid trickling down Ahsoka's chair.

"Aaron," Ahsoka said, her voice shaking "The girls are coming." Aaron gulped, as he fought to stay calm. "You remember what we agreed on right?" Ahsoka asked, panic present in her voice. Aaron nodded as he recalled the deal that both he and Ahsoka had made several months ago. After hours of arguing on Aaron's part, they had agreed that Ahsoka would go through natural childbirth, in other words, birth outside of a hospital with little to medication. Aaron had fought tooth and nail against the idea, but Ahsoka had been adamant that Rachel and Rioka be born within a warm and friendly environment instead of the cold sterility of a hospital.

"Ok," Aaron said, "Alright, lie down on the couch, the contractions should start soon." Ahsoka nodded as she got up from her chair and made her way towards the living room. Before she managed to make to the couch, her entire body clenched in pain, causing her to practically collapse onto the couch.

"Damn it," she swore, as pain coursed through her body "This isn't going to be easy." Unfortunately, she was right. What felt like an entirety of contractions followed, in what Ahsoka would later describe as the most painful experience of her life. Ahsoka grit her teeth as the pain tore through her body, desperately wishing for it to be over.

After hours of pain, through her closed eyes, Ahsoka heard crying. Opening her eyes, she saw Aaron clutching two babies, one of them resembling a Human, and the other a Togruta. "Is," Ahsoka said weakly, as she pushed herself into a sitting position "Is that them?"

Aaron nodded numbly as a few stray tears fell from his eyes. "Which one is Rachel and which is Rioka?" he asked softly.

"Give them to me," Ahsoka asked, her own tears leaving her eyes. Aaron gently handed the crying babies to Ahsoka, who took one in each arm. After glancing from one child to the other, Ahsoka gestured to the one resembling a Human. "She's Rachel," she said quietly "She's Rioka," she continued gesturing to Rachel's sister.

Despite the fact that they were both crying silently, Aaron and Ahsoka couldn't help but smile. "We did a pretty good job," Ahsoka said quietly, as she began to pull down her shirt.

"Um," Aaron asked slowly "What are you doing?"

Ahsoka smiled faintly "They're hungry," she said simply, and sure enough, Rachel and Rioka were already feeding. Aaron just smiled at let out a sigh. In a few hours they would have a lot of introductions to do.

Author's Note: All right, I think after this we just have the Epilogue to worry about. Man this story's come a long way, 150K words, over 600 reviews and 128K hits, I just want to thank everyone who favorited, subscribed and reviewed.

Now about my issues with George Lucas, I really only have 3. The first one is that he put Ahsoka on the front lines, despite the fact the she's fourteen. She isn't a SPARTAN, her training hasn't been designed to mentally prepare her for the harshness of battle, AND HE REALLY WANTED TO MAKE HER ELEVEN! That being said, not only did he make her on a the front lines, he made her a commander too. What? Did...did he really think that this would make sense, a FOURTEEN YEAR OLD leading armies? We have enough dumbass commanders in the Republic without main, mainly ANAKIN!

Second, and those of you who read the first New Origins may be familiar with this, but I never watched a single episode of Clone Wars, why you may ask? Because practically any character that gets developed is going to be killed off, and I've got a very bad feeling about Ahsoka. You see, this is what happens when you make things like order 66 and then go back BEFORE IT, and make characters, THEY'RE DOOMED BY PLOT. I can't help but notice that the Ahsoka in the show is rather immature (See my first problem) but I can't help but feel if she got the chance to be developed (I hear this is already happening to a degree) she will become a likable character. Unfortunately, I have a **very** **bad **feeling that she's going to be killed...probably brutally. In a sense this is why I wrote this story in the first place, to create a reality where Ahsoka isn't doomed to death. You know what really bugs me though? Ahsoka is rather immature SO THEY ASSIGN HER TO ANAKIN? WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

My third and final problem can be summed up in three words. **JAR JAR BINKS!** Do I really need to go into detail for this one?

All right, thanks for all of your support, and please tell me what you think.


	61. Epilouge

Chapter 61

Epilogue

Well folks, this is it, the last chapter of this version of Fighting for a Purpose, it's been one well of a ride. I think that now I'll bounce back and forth between Tribal Wars and New Origins. By the way, someone asked me why I was going Tribal Wars all of a sudden, well I'll tell you. In a way I will not describe, Tribal Wars is connected to New Origins. While you are pondering that, enjoy this conclusion to arguably my best story yet.

December 25, 2615

Seventeen years had passed since the Intergalactic War, and peace and prosperity had followed it. The year was closing, and it was Christmas time for the people of the UNSC. One family in particular was celebrating the holiday on the planet Horizon, in a small town called Wheatherton.

Emily hummed under her breath as she stood in the kitchen of the new Colton house, washing the dishes of the Christmas dinner. The Coltons had needed to move out of their old house, considering the fact there was now too many people in said family for it to hold.

While Emily was going about her work, a teenage girl with black hair tied up in a ponytail walked in. "Hey Grandma," the girl said as she walked towards Emily "Have you seen Mom and Dad?"

"I think they're in the backyard Rachel," Emily replied, as she turned to face her granddaughter.

"Sparing again huh?" Rachel wondered out load as she scratched her chin. "It's five degrees and there's a foot of snow outside, and they're sparring? Man those two just love going at it, you think it's some kind of foreplay for them?"

"Sis, I don't want to know about what you think Mom and Dad do in their sex life," Rioka said as she walked into the kitchen. "It's kind of creepy you know."

Emily smiled as she glanced back and forth between the sisters. Rachel looked like a cross between Amber and Aaron, she had Aaron's black hair and green eyes, but Amber's figure and face. Rioka looked like a younger Ahsoka, although she was slightly more slender, and her skin seemed to be a slightly darker shade.

"Come on girls," Emily said, "Your parents will probably be back inside soon enough, what do you say we go warm up by the fire?" Rachel and Rioka glanced at each other before nodding as the three of them began to walk towards the living room. Rachel and Rioka, for the most part, were polar opposites when it came to personalities. Rioka was the calm and collected type, while Rachel was the hot-blooded type. Both of them liked to butt heads, sometimes multiple times a day, but it was more of a friendly rivalry than anything.

They entered the living room to find a fireplace with a roaring inferno inside of it waiting for them. A teenage Twi'lek and brown haired Human boy were sitting on a couch, looking out of a window. Flashes of blue and green could be seen outside as Aaron and Ahsoka sparred. "Aren't they cold?" The Twi'lek asked.

"Probably, Rumas," Aayla said, as she walked from the other side of the room to where Rumas and the boy were sitting. "The thing is they're probably moving so fast they don't feel it that much, but remember that just because you can do it, doesn't mean that it's smart."

Rumas smiled. "I'll keep that in mind Mom," Rumas said smiling. After the Intergalactic War, although it had taken a little bit of begging on Rumas' part, Aayla had decided to adopt the little girl. Both of them had lived with the Coltons since the end of the war, and were considered to be a part of the family.

"Yeah, well you know my parents," the teenage boy said, smiling slightly "Like the rest of this family, they're tougher than the average person, and like everyone else they do stupid things from time to time." The name of this boy was Richard Colton, the third child of Ahsoka and Aaron, younger than his sisters by two years and was named after his great-grandfather, Emily's father. If Rioka was cold and Rachel was hot, than Richard was somewhere in the middle, slipping in-between controlled and uncontrolled based on a myriad of factors.

"Yeah, well I still think that they do it a little to much," Rachel said, as she sat down in front of the fire, and held her hands out in front of it. "They do it twice a day, and frankly I'm surprised they haven't killed each other over the years, let alone injured each other."

"They're careful about it," Rioka said as she sat down next to her sister. "Why are you only wondering about them? We spare all of the time, but you never say that you, I, Rumas, Richard or Aunt Aayla are going to hurt each other."

"None of us do it as obsessively as they do," Rachel said defensively. "They spar three times a day, and if they can they squeeze in a fourth session. None of us even try to do it that much because it's peace time."

"They find the experience to be bonding," Richard said from his seat. "It's something I can't really explain, they just love pushing themselves, forcing each other to be the best that they can."

"You always have to say something well thought out that causes by argument to completely collapse don't you?" Rachel said, grinning.

"It's either that or have you and Rioka kill each other," Richard said, a slight smirk playing around his face.

"He's got a point you know," Rioka said, looking at her sister. "He has broken us up every time we were arguing, when Mom and Dad weren't around."

"True," Rachel said, "Just for the record, every time that he did it's because I was winning." Everyone laughed.

As the laughed, they heard the front door opening in the distance. "You two are insane you know that?" came Amber's voice from the front door. "Couldn't you have skipped the damn sparring this one time?"

"Amber," came James' slightly amused voice from the same direction, "Do you really think that you're going to be able to convince them to stop?" Amber's groans could be heard from the living room. A few seconds later, Aaron, Ahsoka James and Amber all walked into the living room, Aaron and Ahsoka slightly pink around the face and slightly damp.

"What's up guys?" Ahsoka asked as she sat down between her daughters, and Aaron sat down next to his son.

"Not much Mom," Rioka said. "I'm a little worn out, it was a really fun day."

"Yeah," Rachel said "One of the best Christmases I've ever had."

Ahsoka glanced at the clock and saw that is was nearly midnight. "It's getting late," she said, glancing at her children. "I think that maybe it's time for you to get to bed." Rachel opened her mouth to protest, but before she could say anything, her mouth instinctively stretched wide in a yawn. "Yeah, that's what I thought," Ahsoka said, "Bed."

"You should probably get some sleep too Rumas," Aayla said to her daughter, who nodded.

One by one, the family slowly left the room, until only Ahsoka and Richard were left. "Uh, Mom," Richard said uncertainly. "Can I talk to you?"

Ahsoka turned to look at Richard. "What is it sweetie?" she asked kindly.

"I…I was just wondering," Richard said hesitantly, "You know how you told us about how you and Dad met?" Ahsoka nodded, recalling how he had told her children stories about the Intergalactic War when they were younger, toned down of course. "Do…do you think I'll ever find a girl that I'll love the same why that Dad loves you?"

Ahsoka smiled as she put her hands on her son's shoulder. "Richard," she said softly "You know that if you, Rachel or Rioka ask a question, your father and I always answer truthfully, right?"

"Yeah," Richard said, a small grin present on his face "That's how we found out about sex before we were ten."

"Yes, well to answer your question Richard," Ahsoka said "If you keep your eye open, if you act on your feelings, if you try and pursue a relationship with a girl that you honestly like, then I have no doubt that one day you'll end up happily married."

Richard smiled as he hugged his mother, who did the same to him. "Thanks Mom," he said as he pulled away.

"Anytime," Ahsoka said, "Now get to bed." Richard nodded as he walked past Ahsoka and out of the room, Ahsoka smiling as he left. She had three beautiful children, a husband to whom she had been married for nearly twenty years, and an all around loving family and happy life.

"Things can get rough sometimes," Ahsoka said to no one in particular, thinking of her own life and the hardships that she had gone through, "But if you can outlast the tough times, if you can over come the hardships that life throws at you, than what can possibly hope to stand between you and happiness."

Author's Note: Yeah it was short, but then again it was an epilogue. Well I hope that you enjoyed the ride, I'm moving on to Tribal Wars and New Origins. From time to time, I'm going to be coming back to this story to clean up spelling and grammar mistakes. Maybe after that I'll write the sequel to this story, I've already got the rough plot worked out, but I want to do New Origins and Tribal Wars first.

Please tell me what you think of the chapter and the story as a whole, and a big thank you to everyone who had supported me since I started writing this story.


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